


After Hogwarts

by HufflepuffMommy



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Gen, Post-Hogwarts
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-12
Updated: 2015-11-05
Packaged: 2018-04-14 07:53:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 46,446
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4556706
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HufflepuffMommy/pseuds/HufflepuffMommy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ever felt like you wanted to know what happened AFTER the Wizarding War ended and before the "19yrs later" epilogue? Me too. This is a continuation of the story right where it left off after the War. Characters owned by JK Rowling. ON HIATUS (Sorry)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoy!  
> Please comment!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Follow me on Twitter for updates! @HufflepuffMom82  
> 8/30/15: Edits applied  
> 9/3/15: Added a new first paragraph to introduce the story better  
> 9/29/15: More minor edits applied.
> 
> Thanks for Reading!

The Wizarding War is over. Harry Potter, The Boy Who Lived; The Chosen One, has defeated Lord Voldemort once and for all! The wizarding world is both celebrating over the victory and mourning over the loss of loved ones. As the dust settles, Harry, Ron, and Hermione, walk the grounds of the castle, talking about the Deathly Hallows; how Harry had all three at once; the Resurrection Stone, which he used to bring back his parents and mentors in what he thought were his last moments of life; the invisibility cloak, which had been passed down to him from his father, and from his father before him, for many generations; to the Elder wand, which was thought just a legend but ended up being real and true and defeated one of the most evil wizards in history.

The three friends made their way back to the castle after visiting Dumbledore’s tomb, but not before Harry fixed his wand with the Elder wand; he was glad to finally have his own back. They walked to the entrance of the Great Hall, where everyone was still hanging about. Some were eating, some were getting bandaged up, and some were mourning. He glanced over at the Weasley family and his stomach dropped, remembering that Fred was gone, as well as Lupin, Tonks, and a handful of others, and it was all his fault.

“I’ll meet up with you guys later. I don't think I can go in there right now,” Harry said.

“Do you want--” Hermione began, but Harry shook his head, assuring her that he just wanted some time to himself. She started to argue, but Ron reached for her hand and gently squeezed it, motioned for her to follow him into the Great Hall.

He wandered the halls of the broken down castle. A sense of grief swept over him; his first real home was broken and crumbling. He knew that the simple _reparo_ spell wouldn’t be able to fix most of the damage, but he hoped something can be done and that Hogwarts wouldn’t be closed for forever.

Harry wasn’t really thinking of where he was walking; he just let his feet do the guiding. It was no surprise that they stopped in front of the Gryffindor common room entrance. The Fat Lady wasn't in her portrait, but the door was ajar. He walked in and took a look around.

It was a bit messier than usual, but nothing too bad. Some chairs were overturned and the fire was out in the fireplace. A simple wave of his wand and the flames roared to life. He righted a chair and sat in it next to the fire; exhaustion and hunger hitting full force. Once again he wondered if Kreacher would be able to bring him something to eat. “Kreacher..” he thought to himself. The last time he saw him was in the battle. He wasn't even sure if he was alive.

Harry took a deep breath and said “Kreacher.. are you here? Please come here if you are.”

He held his breath while he waited.

After about 30 seconds he exhaled, thinking the worse.

Then, there was a loud _CRACK!_ and Kreacher was next to him.  

“Kreacher!” Harry exclaimed. “I thought you were...”

But the house elf smiled one of his very rare smiles and said, “It will take more than Death Eaters to get Kreacher down, Master Harry.”

Harry smiled. “Glad to hear it. I just thought since you didn't come right away, that you were...”

“So sorry Master Harry. Kreacher was in the Great Hall, helping Mister Neville and Miss Luna with Miss Hannah’s wounds. Kreacher came as soon as he was done, Master.”

“Thanks Kreacher. I was hoping you were alright. After we didn't come back from the Ministry, I wasn’t sure what was going to happen to you. Someone followed us and we couldn't go back... I’m sorry Kreacher.”

“It’s ok Master Harry. Miss Hermione told Kreacher that if something were to happen to you lot and you couldn't return, to come straight to Hogwarts kitchen where the other house elves would take him in.”

“She did, did she? That Hermione, always one step ahead..” Harry shook his head. Then his stomach let out a huge growl.

“Err...do you think you’d be able to get me something to eat? I haven’t had a proper meal since.... well, since the last time you cooked for us.”

“Certainly Master Harry. Anything in particular?” Kreacher asked.

“As long as it’s hot and nothing with mushrooms or fish.”

Kreacher nodded and vanished with a loud _CRACK!_.

Harry got up from the chair and made his way up to the boys dormitory. The room was mostly intact with his and Ron’s beds nearly untouched since they never returned for school that year. There was, however, debris on his bed and a huge gaping hole above it, probably blasted by a rogue curse during the battle. Harry brushed off the debris and sat on his bed, leaning against the headboard. He looked up at the impromptu skylight and could tell that it was getting dark outside as he could see some stars twinkling to life. He yawned, rubbed his eyes from under his glasses and immediately fell asleep.

After what seemed like just a few minutes, Harry started to wake. With his eyes still closed, he realized two things; One, the smell of some sort of stew nearby and Two; there was someone curled up next to him with an arm laying across his waist. He shifted his head slightly and inhaled the scent of wildflowers. “Ginny..” he murmured. He gathered her close and fell back asleep.

* * *

“Harry.”

Harry shifted in his sleep, groaning in protest of waking up.

Ginny stifled a laugh. “Harry. Wake up. It’s morning. People are going to wonder if we ran away together or something.”

“Hmmm... so what? That’s not a bad idea, if you think about it,” Harry opened his eyes to a squint and gave Ginny a smile as she poked him in the stomach.

“Very funny. Are you going to wake up and eat this stew that’s been sitting next to you all night, or should I just help myself?”

Harry opened his eyes and watched Ginny get up and grab the tray of food, then sit at the end of the bed, cross legged, putting the tray between them. He reached for his glasses on the nightstand next to his bed, put them on, and sat up. “How about, we share?” he offered.

Ginny smiled “I guess that will work.” She took out her wand and conjured up another spoon then helped herself.

Harry took a huge bite of the meaty stew. “Wow, I can't believe it’s still hot. It’s been sitting there for hours.”

Ginny raised her eyebrows. “How have you never noticed that none of the food in the Great Hall ever got cold? All the bowls, plates, and goblets are charmed so that the food stays hot or cold, depending on what’s in them.”  

Harry shrugged, taking another bite. “I dunno, I guess I never really thought about it before.”

Harry and Ginny ate in silence for a few moments, enjoying each other’s company. When they were done with the stew, Harry leaned back against the headboard, once again staring out the hole in the ceiling, noting that it was already bright outside and he could hear the faint sound of birds chirping in the distance.

“So.. what now, Harry?” Ginny asked tentatively, picking up the bread roll and tearing it into pieces before eating it.

Harry looked at her. “Do you mean about us?”

Ginny shrugged nonchalantly, eating another piece of bread “Yes, us. Future plans. Occupation. Living arrangements, those type of things.”

Harry leaned forward, pulled her hand towards him so that she had to lean over the tray that was still between them, kissed her softly, then rested his forehead against hers. “I don't know about future plans or any of that sort yet, but I’d be nutters to ever let you go again.”

Ginny closed her eyes and smiled, putting her hand on his cheek. “Yes, you would.” She gave him another quick kiss then went back to eating the bread roll. “You know, we really should go back to the Great Hall though. People were wondering where you were at last night and I volunteered to go find you. I took a guess that you’d be here. Kreacher had just set the food on the table when I came into the room. You looked so peaceful while asleep, and Merlin knows you needed the rest, that I just let you be. Figured I’d get in some rest too while I was here.”

Harry nodded. “We can head back once you’re done with the food,” he looked down at his clothes and his hands, still grimy and dirty for the night before.  “Well, you can go anyways, I’m going take a shower before going back. I’m filthy.”

“Glad you mentioned that, I didn’t want to say anything -- Hey!” Ginny laughed as Harry threw a pillow at her. “Ok, ok, I’m going.” She got up and put the tray on one of the other beds. “See you in a bit?”

Harry nodded, getting up from the bed. He walked over to Ginny, gave her a kiss, then said “I’ll be down soon.”

Ginny smiled. “Ok.” She squeezed his hand then walked out of the dormitory.

Harry watched her leave, sighed, then made his way to the showers.

* * *

Harry stood in the shower for a while, just letting the hot water wash over him. He couldn't remember the last time he had this luxury.

He heard someone come in, then Ron’s voice called out “Harry? You in here? Didn’t drown did you?”

Harry smiled. “Ya, I’m here, just finishing up. What’s up?”

“Ran into Ginny and she said she found you and that you were heading here. Figured I’d bring you some clean clothes from Hermione’s bag. I’ll just put them next to your towel, ok?”

“Thanks. I guess I hadn’t thought that far ahead.” Harry turned off the shower, then reached for his towel to dry off then grabbed his clothes to change into. He pulled back the curtain and Ron was standing there, leaning against the wall of the room, just staring up at the ceiling.

“Ron?”

“Hmm?”

“You look exhausted mate. Did you get any sleep last night?” Harry asked, rubbing the towel on his head to get his hair somewhat dry.

Ron nodded, “A little. They brought some cots into the Great Hall last night for those who wanted to stay around. Most everyone did. A few people went home, or to Hogshead though. My Mum and Dad stayed the night, but left just a bit ago with the wizards from the Morgue...they said for us to head back to the Burrow when we’re ready.”

Harry tossed the wet towel onto a pile of other wet towels that were on the floor, then wadded up his dirty clothes and tossed them in a rubbish bin. He ran a hand through his hair to somewhat tame it down, even though he knew it was useless.

In companionable silence, they walked down to the Great Hall.

“Harry!” exclaimed Hermione, as she spotted him, running over to him and giving him a hug. “How are you feeling? Better?” she asked, looking at him worriedly.

Harry nodded, “I’m doing a bit better, thanks. Ended up passing out in the Gryffindor dorm and Kreacher brought me some food. Sorry if I worried anyone.”

He looked around, spotting the Headmistress walking towards him.

“Mr. Potter. Glad to see you this morning. Everyone’s been waiting for you to return... we all wanted to give our thanks for everything you did for the Wizarding world...”

Harry held up his hands. “Please Headmistress. It’s alright, I don't need any thanks. I’m just glad it’s all over, once and for all. I was wondering though, did you get Professor Snape’s body from the Shrieking Shack? I want to make sure he gets a proper burial, maybe even a tomb by Dumbledore? It should be somewhere here at Hogwarts I think.”

She gave him a smile. “I think that can be arranged. It may take some convincing with the Ministry, but I’m sure we can work something out. I’m curious though, how did you know he was on our side this whole time?”

“There’s a memory in the pensive in your office. I left it in there. It’s Professor Snape’s, and it should hopefully explain everything.”

McGonagall nodded “I’ll take a look the next time I am able. Thank you Mr. Potter. For now though, I need to get some wizarding contractors out here to see about rebuilding this school, so that it will be open in time for next school term.” She looked around, a little sadness in her and she took stock of all the damage.

“Is it fixable?” Harry wondered aloud.

“Oh yes, not to worry. It just may take time, so it needs to get started straight away.” She turned to look at him, patted his arm and gave a gentle squeeze. “Oh, I nearly forgot. I have something for you, and Mr. Weasley too.” She reached into her cloak pocket and procured two envelopes. “These are your Apparition Licenses. Kingsley gave them to be before he went back to the Ministry yesterday evening. Said that you two still needed them and to not worry about taking the test, but just make sure you read up on the rules, which are included with your license.” She handed him the envelopes.

“Oh,” said Harry, looking at the envelopes in his hands, “I nearly forgot that we needed licenses for Apparating. Thank you, Headmistress.”

She gave him a smile, “I’ll see you around, Mr. Potter.”

Harry smile and nodded, then looked around to see who all was still here. Neville was standing by the Hufflepuff table, with Luna and his grandmother. It looked like they were saying goodbye. Harry walked over to them. When Neville looked up and saw Harry, he smiled, and gave him a hug. “Alright Harry? I think we’re going to head on out. Nothing else we can really do here. Where are you going to stay while they fix the school?”

Harry nodded towards the Weasley clan that was behind them, all talking quietly. “I’m going to head back to the Burrow for a bit, then figure things out from there. Are you planning on coming back next year to finish your 7th year?”

“Gran will probably hang me up by my ears if I don't” said Nevill laughing, gesturing to his grandmother, who was talking to another witch at the entrance of the Great Hall. “Besides, Professor Sprout said that if I finish my schooling, and get good grades on my N.E.W.T.S., I can intern for her. Maybe even become a teacher here someday.”

“That’s great Neville! I’m still not sure if I’m coming back next year... We’ll see.” said Harry.

Neville put out his hand to shake Harry’s. “Well, see you around, Harry.”

“See ya, Neville.” said Harry, as he watched Neville and his Gran walk out the Great Hall.

“Harry?” said Luna, who was standing next to him.

“Hi Luna. How are you doing?” Harry asked, giving her a hug.

“I’m well, thank you. I’m about to head home too. I miss daddy. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen him. Hermione explained what happened, so I should probably make sure the nargles are ok. Have a good summer, alright?” She smiled, waved, and left.

Harry walked over to the Weasley family. They seemed to be comfortably talking to one another, but he could tell there was some sadness in everyone's eyes. He glanced over at George, who was the quietest of them all. He walked over to him, opening his mouth trying to come up with something to say, but all that he could muster was “George...I’m so sorry.”

George gave him a quizzical look. “For what, Harry?”

“About Fred. If I had just gone out to Voldemort earlier, then maybe...”

“Stop Harry.” Said George, looking angry. “Don’t you dare blame yourself for Fred’s death. For anyone’s death for that matter. Everyone who died in battle, knew the risks of coming here to fight. Everyone was of-age. Well, mostly everyone. Some not-quite of-age kids snuck in to fight, but that doesn't matter. Everyone knew what could happen, they knew the risks.” He looked squarely into Harry’s eyes. “It’s NOT your fault. Don’t ever think that. Fred wouldn’t want you to put that burden on yourself, and neither would I. Neither would Lupin, or Tonks. You just do what you deserve to do Harry. Live. Be free. For once in your whole life, you can do what you want, without having to look behind your back. Keep moving forward, ok?”

Swallowing the lump in his throat, Harry nodded. “Will do. Thanks George. What about you though? What are you planning on doing? Are you going to keep the shop open, or...?”

“Of course I’m going to very well keep the bloody shop open, are you nutters? Fred would haunt me day in and day out if I don’t,” George smiled somberly.  “Besides, after everything that happened, and all the loss and hurt everyone has gone through, the world needs some happiness and laughter. That’s why we opened the shop in the first place.”

“Well, if you need anything, let me know ok?”

“You got it, partner,” said, George, smiling a real smile.

Harry walked around the Great Hall and talked with other students, parents, and professors who were still around. After saying their own goodbye’s, Harry and the Weasley’s made their way to the front entrance of the school. Everyone was able to disapparate on their own, now that Harry and Ron had their official license, except Ginny, who had yet to learn. Harry put his arm around her shoulders, she put hers around his waist, and they disapparated together to The Burrow.


	2. Chapter 2

That evening, the whole Weasley family, along with Harry and Hermione, gathered together outside for dinner. Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione sat at one of the end table, having their own discussion while Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Charlie, Bill, Fleur, Percy, and George talked amongst themselves.

"So I talked to Headmistress McGonagall. It looks like the school will be re-opened for next term!" said Hermione excitedly.

Ron turned his head to look at each her. He shook his head and smiled. "Only you would be excited about the school opening up, even if you're not going," said Ron, after taking a huge bite of shepherd's pie.

Hermione gave him a quizzical look. "What do you mean 'not going'? Of course I'm going back. I want to finish my schooling. I already worked it out with the Headmistress. She said any 7th years who want to return to complete their education is more then welcome. So, I'll be going back in the fall, with Ginny." She gave Ginny a smile, took a bite of her supper, and looked back at Ron and then Harry. "What about you two. Are you planning on going back?"

Ron shoveled more food into his mouth and mumbled something about not being sure.

"I'm not sure either." said Harry, then changing the subject he asked "So what are your plans for the summer, Hermione? Getting an early start on studying for N.E.W.T.S.?" he teased.

"Very funny, Harry. No, I'm actually going to go to Australia. I need to find my mum and dad and reverse the memory spell I put on them." Hermione's eyes welled up and her voice hitched. "I... I miss them. And even though they don't remember who I am, I'm sure they would miss me too, if they could. Plus, I'm worried they are going to hate me for what I did."

Ron put his arm around her shoulders, rubbing her arm in comfort. "I'll go with you," he said softly.

Hermione looked up at him. "What?"

"I'll go with you. To Australia. And help you find your parents and explain everything. You shouldn't have to go alone, Hermione."

"Oh Ronald! That would be wonderful! Thank you. Will your parents be ok with it? They don't need you around here this summer?"

"I'm of-age. I shouldn't have to ask my parents permission..."

Hermione gave him a pointed look.

Ron cleared his throat and looked over at his parents. "Mum? Dad? I'm going to Australia this summer with Hermione to help her find her parents, ok?"

Mrs. Weasley pretended to think it over, then gave him a smile. "That's fine dear. Make sure to pack enough underwear," then went back to talking to Mr. Weasley.

Ron nearly choked on his pumpkin juice while Hermione, Harry, and Ginny burst out laughing. When she calmed down Hermione said, "Then that's settled. We'll leave next week after the memorial service the Ministry is having for those who died during the battle. Have you ever been on an airplane, Ron?"

While Hermione and Ron talked about their upcoming trip, Harry turned his focus to Ginny, who was already looking at him, smiling. "What?" he asked, smiling back.

She shrugged. "Nothing," she cupped the side of his face with her hand, rubbing her thumb along the crease of his smile. "Just nice to hear you laugh and see you smile." Harry leaned into her hand, then turned his head and kissed her palm. Harry took her hand and intertwined his fingers with hers, while she rested her head on his shoulder.

"So have you thought about more of what you'll be doing this summer?" she asked him.

"Well, at the moment I'm trying to decide if I want to stay at Grimmauld Place or look for a flat in London somewhere. Then look for a job. I really can't see myself going back to Hogwarts. Unlike Hermione, I'm not the very studious type."

Ginny chuckled. "You don't say?" Sighing, she said "I kind of figured you wouldn't come back to Hogwarts. But you know you don't have to find a place to stay. Mum and Dad have always said that the Burrow is one of your homes too."

"I know, but I don't want to put them out.."

"Harry James Potter," said Mrs. Weasley from the other side of the table. "Don't you ever assume that you are putting us out, do you hear me? You can stay here as long as you like."

Harry smiled at her. "Yes, ma'am."

"As for a job," said Mr. Weasley, "I can always see if something is available at the Ministry if you like. They're going to need to hire a lot of employees after everything is calmed down and sorted out."

"That would be great, Mr. Weasley. Thanks!" said Harry.

"Well, if you lot are done," said Mrs. Weasley, getting up, "I'll start clearing the table and get started on these dishes."

"I'll help you, mum," said Ginny. She squeezed Harry's hand then got up and started collecting plates.

When Mrs. Weasley and Ginny were back in the house, Ron asked Harry, "So, you and Ginny are back together then, huh?"

Harry nodded "Yes, we are. That's not a problem is it?"

"No, no problem. As long as you don't decide that you can't be with her... again."

"Ron!..." said Hermione.

"No, Hermione, it's fine. He's just looking out for his little sister," said Harry. He looked at Ron and said "I know I hurt her before. Trust me, that was the last thing I wanted to do. And I only did it because I was afraid Voldemort would use her to get to me. You know this. I've never stopped having feelings for her though. I thought about her every day. Now that he's gone, I don't have to worry about her being used as a pawn anymore." He leaned forward so that only Ron and Hermione could hear. "I love her, Ron. I care about her. I plan on marrying her someday," he said matter-of-factly.

Ron's mouth fell open, speechless. Hermione's eyes welled up with tears. "Oh, Harry! That's so sweet and wonderful!"

"Shhh," said Harry. "I don't want to make a big deal about it right now. She still needs to finish school, and I need to get a job, before anything happens. As for loving her, I'd like to tell her myself, alright?" he looked pointedly at Hermione then at Ron, who nodded his head.

"Alright then," Harry stood up. "I think I'll go see if Mrs. Weasley needs help with the dishes."

Harry walked into the Burrow's kitchen, where Mrs. Weasley was elbow deep in soapy water. He walked over to her, grabbing the sponge from her hand. "You deserve a night off. Why don't you go in the sitting room and relax. I'll do this."

"Oh Harry dear, don't be silly! I've got it," she reached for the sponge, but Harry moved it out of her reach.

"No, I got it," he gave her a smile. "I've got to earn my keep somehow, right?"

"Oh, you stubborn boy," she smiled back, gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, then dried her hands on the towel and went to the sitting room where the rest of the family was starting to gather.

Later that evening, the family was outside, saying goodbye to Bill and Fleur as they were getting ready to head back to Shell Cottage.

"Now, are you sure you don't want to stay the night here? Your bed is still in your old room and I'm making a big breakfast in the morning," Mrs. Weasley said, trying to convince them to stay.

Bill shook his head. "Mum, that bed is entirely too small for us to sleep in together comfortably. We miss our home and our own bed," he gave her a hug, then kissed her cheek. "We'll be back in a few days, ok?"

Mrs. Weasley nodded, her eyes tearing up. Fleur came over and gave her a hug as well. "Oui, Mama Weasley. We will be back before you know it, alright?"

Mrs. Weasley nodded again and stood off to the side while Bill and Fleur each gave Mr. Weasley a hug. They waved goodbye at everyone else, then walked a bit a ways from the Burrow so they could disapparate to Shell Cottage together.

"Well," said Charlie, as everyone headed back in, "Anyone fancy a game of poker? We can play for biscuits."

Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione agreed to play; Percy said he needed to do some things first, then go to bed for the night; Mr. Weasley convinced Mrs. Weasley that they should turn in early as well; and George said he wasn't in the mood to play, but he'd watch instead.

* * *

Ron chewed nervously on his lip. He glanced at the cards in his hands, then back at Charlie. They were the only two left in the game; Hermione had stopped playing about an hour before and was currently reading a book; Harry folded earlier in that hand; and Ginny was flipping through a quidditch magazine, having lost all her biscuits the round before. The current ante had not only 20 biscuits, but a wizarding comic book, a poster, a switch blade, omnioculars, and a week's worth of clearing the table after each meal. Taking a deep breath, feeling sort-of confidant of his hand, Ron set his cards on the table.

"Hmm…. four 8's. Not shabby," said Charlie. "But, nothing can beat… a royal flush!" He tossed his cards on the table, showing his hand and smiled smugly.

Ron swore under his breath as Charlie gathered up the ante. "Tough break little bro. Want to play another round?"

"No," said Ron angrily, standing up. "I'm heading to bed," and he stalked off towards the stairs.

"I better go to bed too," said Hermione, bookmarking the page she was on and closing the book. "See you in the morning."

"Night Hermione, have fun snogging Ron," said Charlie teasingly.

Hermione's face turned a light shade of red before turning to walk out of the kitchen.

Ginny put her hand to her mouth so she wouldn't laugh out loud. "I'll give them a few minutes before heading to bed myself. I don’t want to walk in on them snogging," she gave an exaggerated shudder.

"Would serve them right," said Harry. "After all, they interrupted us on my birthday last year."

"True, but I would rather NOT see my brother snogging anyone. Ever." She looked slyly over at Harry. "Should I remind you of the gift I gave you?" she said teasingly.

Charlie cleared his throat, loudly. "Speaking of not wanting to see siblings snogging, I definitely don't want to see my baby sister doing that. I'll just leave you two alone." He gathered up the cards, put them in the kitchen drawer where they are stored, and went to his room.

Smiling at each other, Harry and Ginny both leaned in and kissed softly.

"Want to go sit by the fireplace?" Harry asked after a moment, "It will be more comfortable in there."

Ginny smiled, nodding. Holding hands, they walked into the living room. They stopped short when they noticed that George was on the couch, just staring into the fire. They looked at each other, then back at George.

"George," said Ginny tentatively, "What are you doing on the couch? I thought you went to bed ages ago?" She walked over and sat next to him while Harry sat in a sitting chair opposite them.

George looked over at her, shrugged, then looked back at the fire. "Just thinking." He shifted so that he was leaning against the back of the couch, looking at the ceiling. "I couldn't get myself to go into the room. There's too much... _stuff_ in there." His eyes watered slightly. "I haven't been able to go in there since we got back."

"So you’ve sleeping on the couch?" asked Ginny.

George nodded.

"What about Bill's old room?"

George shrugged.

"What about bunking with Charlie?" suggested Harry. He wondered if George didn't want a room to by himself, since he had shared a room all of his life with at least one other person. "Or with Ron? I can sleep down here tonight. There's already a bed in Ron's room all set up."

George looked at Harry. "No, that's ok. I can sleep here tonight. Maybe tomorrow I'll talk to Charlie about setting up a cot in his room for a while. Thanks though," he gave him half a smile.

"Do you want any company?" offered Ginny.

"Nah, you guys go to bed." He looked between the two of them, then added, " _Separately_ , of course," He gave him a stern look, then broke into a smile.

Ginny rolled his eyes. "Yes, _dad_ ," She gave her brother a hug. "I'll see you in the morning."

"Night," Harry said to George.

He and Ginny walked up the stairs until they were in front of her room. Harry gave her a kiss goodnight, then headed to Ron's room where he noticed Ron was passed out with a smile on his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed it!  
> 8/30/15 - Edits applied  
> 9/29/15 - Minor edits applied  
> Please leave a comment :)


	3. Chapter 3

The next few days at the Burrow was spent cleaning, inside and out. Even though the Ministry was holding a memorial ceremony for those who had fallen, the Weasley’s were going to hold their own private memorial with all their family and close friends for Fred. It felt like getting ready for Bill and Fleur’s wedding all over again, except this time they were not gathering for a happy occasion, which made Mrs. Weasley even more strict about chores than last time.

In the mornings, the boys would go outside to de-gnome the yard, cut the grass, and pull weeds while the girls cleaned up the sitting room, dining room, and kitchen. In the evenings after dinner, everyone was tasked with a chore such as sweeping, mopping, dusting, and polishing.

“Pretty sure I know the real reason why Bill went back to Shell Cottage… he didn’t want to get stuck with chores,” muttered Ron one day, scrubbing polish off from his hands.

The day before the memorial, the same huge tent that was used at the wedding was being set up again for the service. Mr. Weasley, Charlie, George, Ron, and Harry all levitated different sides of the massive tent, while Mrs. Weasley, Ginny, and Hermione guided them.

After they were done, Mrs. Weasley said they could have a 10 minute break and she’ll be back with lemonade before they start setting up the chairs inside. Grateful for the break, Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione made their way to a nearby tree, where they laid on the grass under the shade of the leafy branches.

The weather had gotten hotter in the past few days, a sure sign that summer was approaching. Harry took off his glasses and wiped the sweat from his face. He put them back on, sat up, and looked around. He could hear birds singing and the sound of some sort of bug chirping in the distance. It seemed surreal to him that it had been almost a week since he defeated Voldemort. _I shouldn’t even be here,_ he thought to himself. He looked around at his friends and smiled _but I’m glad I am_. He went back to staring off into the distance until a gentle poke to the ribs brought him back to reality. Ginny was next to him, smiling.

“Where’d ya go, Harry? You kind of zoned out for a moment.”

Harry put his arm around her shoulder and kissed the top of her head. “Just thinking about how much has changed in just a short amount of time, and how I’m glad I’m here.”

Ginny smiled and leaned into him, then her eyes saddened. “I just wish tomorrow didn’t have to come so quickly. It’ll make it real, that he’s really gone,” She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath, and willed the tears the stop. “I can’t let Mum see me cry, it’ll only upset her... Tomorrow is going to be so hard.”

Harry tightened his grip on her shoulders. “I’m so sorry Gin.”

Mrs. Weasley came out of the house, holding a tray of glasses filled with ice and lemonade. Ginny hastily wiped away any signs of tears and got up to help her. The group drank thirstily then headed back to the tent, where they began to set up the chairs.

Later that evening, Harry was helping Ron set the table for dinner when Mrs. Weasley came over and told the boys to set up one more spot. “We’re having a guest tonight,” she explained.

“Wonder who it is?” Ron asked Harry.

Harry shrugged, putting the napkin next to the plate that Ron just set down, “No idea. As far as I know, everyone is coming tomorrow after the Ministry’s service.”

As if to answer their question, the fireplace glowed green from floo powder and their visitor stepped out from the ashes. When she looked up, Harry gasped. _No!_ he thought, reaching for his wand, _she can’t be alive!_... Then he realized that he wasn’t looking at Bellatrix, but at her sister, Andromeda.

“I don’t think I’ll ever get used to how closely she resembles her sister,” he whispered to Ron, as he tucked his wand away.

Ron nodded in agreement, color returning to his face. Apparently, he thought the same thing Harry did.

Mrs. Weasley walked over to Andromeda and gave her a hug. “It’s so nice to see you, Andromeda. Oh!!! Is this little Teddy?” she cood, looking at a little bundle wrapped in a large cloth around Andromeda’s chest.

Andromeda smiled “It sure is. He’s out cold though. I don’t like traveling by floo while he’s awake just yet. I don’t want it to scare him.”

Mrs. Weasley nodded knowingly, still cooing at the bundled up baby. “Of course, of course, I understand.” Finally taking her eyes off the baby, she looked around the room, “Now where is Arthur…”

“Right here, Molly,” said Mr. Weasley, levitating something big and bulky in front of him. “It was buried all the way in the back of the shed. I cleaned it up with a good cleaning spell and it should be good as new.” It took Harry a moment to realize it was a baby cradle. Mr. Weasley placed the cradle in the sitting area, near the fireplace.

“Oh, not too close to the fireplace, dear. You don’t want him to get too hot and sweaty,” said Mrs. Weasley, moving the crib about 2 feet away from where Mr. Weasley placed it. “There, that’s better.” Mr. Weasley mumbled something about how the fireplace wasn’t even lit, but Mrs. Weasley was too busy fussing with the crib bedding to hear.

Andromeda unwrapped the baby she was wearing and placed him gently into the cradle. Hermione and Ginny went over and kneeled down on either side of the sleeping baby and started admiring how cute and tiny he was.

Andromeda looked over at Harry and gave him a gentle smile. “Good evening, Harry. It’s been a while since I last saw you.”

Harry nodded, “Yes, it has.” He glanced over at the cradle. “So that’s Teddy, huh?”

Andromeda looked over as well, smiling, “Yes,” then looking at Harry “You’ve haven’t met him yet, right?”

Harry shook his head, “No, not yet. Lupin showed me a picture of him though. I think he had blue hair at the time?”

“His hair has been blue many times. And red. And pink. And orange,” she laughed, shaking her head, “Just like his mum…” her eyes saddened with the thought of her daughter. Harry was about to say something when Mrs. Weasley called the girls and Andromeda into the kitchen. After they left the room, Harry looked over his shoulder, then, slowly, walked over to the cradle and peered in.

Little Teddy was asleep on his back; arms at either side of his head. Harry noted that his hair was a regular, blonde color at the moment. He turned to walk away when all of a sudden a little wail came from the cradle. Harry went over and peered in again, noting that Teddy was very upset.

“Um….” he looked around the room, realizing that he was still the only one there. He started to panic, not really sure what to do with a crying baby. Should he pick him up? Should he go get Andromeda or Mrs. Weasley? Should he leave him alone?

To Harry’s gratitude, Andromeda came in from the kitchen. “Oh I see my little Teddy Bear is awake,” she said to the baby as she picked him up and cradled him in the crook of her arm. He immediately stopped crying and started cooing back at her. Andromeda walked over to Harry and said “Harry, I’d like to introduce you to your godson, Teddy.” Teddy gave a gummy smirk as he made eye contact with Harry.

Harry smiled back, “Hey there Teddy, nice to meet you finally.” He let Teddy grab his finger. “Woah, strong grip for such a little guy,” Harry commented.

“Would you like to hold him?”

Harry looked up, surprised. “Me? No, that’s ok. I couldn’t…..”

“Oh sure you can. Come, come,” she said, as she pulled Harry to the couch and made him sit. “Here,” she handed him a throw pillow, “Put this under your arm, that’s it. Now, position your arms like how mine are, Good, good. And now...” she placed the baby in the crook of Harry’s arm, “You are holding your godson.”

Harry looked down at the tiny bundle in his arms, and smiled.

Teddy wailed in response.

Harry looked at Andromeda, “Um, I don’t think he likes me, maybe you should take him…?” he tried shifting the baby so he could hand him back to her, but she stopped him.

“He’s just hungry, that’s all. Here,” with a wave of her wand she conjured up a warm bottle, “this should help.” She handed Harry the bottle who then gave it to the baby to drink from.

Andromeda smiled. “There you go. I’ll just leave you two be for now. I need to go help Molly in the kitchen with dinner.”

As Andromeda walked into the kitchen, Ron, Ginny, and Hermione came back into the sitting room. They looked at Harry and the girls immediately said “Awwwweee!” at the same time, causing Harry’s face to turn red.

“Oh, shut up.” he said, teasingly, “I’m just spending time with my godson.”

Hermione and Ginny both sat on either side of Harry; Ginny started playing with his hair, which had started to turn into a purple color, while Hermione played with his feet. A few minutes later, Teddy spit out the empty bottle and started wailing again. “Uh oh… now what? I thought feeding him would make him happy?” He looked to Hermione and then to Ginny for help.

Ginny laughed. “He just needs to be burped, silly. Here, let me show you.”

Gratefully, Harry handed the baby to Ginny, who held him up to her shoulder and started patting his back. Seconds later, Teddy let out a huge belch. “There you go big guy, all better now?” said Ginny, cooing at the baby.

Hermione got up from her side of the couch and went and sat on the other side of Ginny, so she could see the baby better. “You are a handsome little guy, aren’t you?” she cooed.

Harry got up and walked over to where Ron was standing, then looked at the girls. “What is it about babies that make girls go all nutty?” he asked, smiling.

Ron shrugged. “I dunno. All they seem to do is eat, sleep, and wet their nappies,” He shook his head, then started turning towards the kitchen. “Come on, let’s go see if dinner is ready yet. I’m starving.”

* * *

The breakfast table was unusually quiet at the Burrow the next morning. Harry picked at his eggs and toast and noticed everyone else was either doing the same or not eating at all.

“Well, you lot should go get ready,” said Mrs. Weasley, who was starting to clear the table, “The ministry will be here to take us to the service soon.”

“How come we are not apparating there?” asked Charlie.

“The Ministry wants family members to arrive by Ministry official cars. So that’s what we’re going to do,” said Mrs. Weasley, with some finality in her voice. No one argued as everyone got up and headed to their rooms to get dressed. Mrs. Weasley had laid out everyone’s funeral dress robes the night before: black button-up collared shirts with either grey slacks or skirts, grey and dark purple striped ties, and black dress robes. At 10 o’clock, a black Ministry car arrived in front of the Burrow and everyone piled in.

The drive to the memorial service was very solemn. Harry was looking out the window when he realized that they were not heading into London.

“Are we not going to the ministry?” he asked Mr. Weasley.

Mr. Weasley shook his head. “No. There just isn’t enough room to fit everyone who is planning to attend. They secured a hillside to hold it at.”

Harry nodded then continued to look out the window until they arrived at their destination.

The car stopped on the bottom of a large, grassy hill. As everyone got out of the car, a cobblestone pathway appeared, leading them up the hillside.

George looked at the pathway then back at everyone else and said, “Well, I guess we go this way,” and started walking up the hill, leading the group. Arm in arm, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley followed their son, followed by Charlie and Percy, then Ron, who had an arm around Hermione’s shoulders.

Harry looked at Ginny, who had a single tear fall from her cheek. He wiped the tear with his thumb then offered his hand. “Ready, Gin?”

Ginny nodded and took his hand, letting him lead the way up the hill.

The top of the hill overlooked a valley covered in grass and flowers. The pathway continued down the hillside, with hundreds of chairs on either side so it had an arena type setting. In the valley laid rows and rows of coffins; above each were long banners suspended in air, deep purple in color with gold writing, that had the name of the person who rested in the coffin underneath them, along with their birth and death date. The group met up with Bill and Fleur, who had arrived shortly before them, and made their way down the path to walk through the rows of coffins. They stopped at those they knew along the way such as Colin Creevy, Lavender Brown, and even Vincent Crabbe, putting single white flowers on top of them. When they got to Nymphadora Tonks, they met Andromeda there, with Teddy sleeping in a baby pram next to her. She was holding herself, shaking, and crying silent tears. Mrs. Weasley went up to her and put a comforting arm around her friend. Hermione made a wreath of purple and pink flowers to place on top of her coffin. Next to Tonks was Remus Lupin. Harry walked over alone and made a wreath of purple and blue flowers. Harry placed his hand on the coffin and did a vow to Lupin, as well as to himself, that he’d be there for Teddy and help take care of him. Ron, Hermione, and Ginny soon joined him and stood there by his side, silently remembering their Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher as well as their friend and mentor.

Towards the back row of coffins lay Fred Weasley. George was already there, standing over his twin brother. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley joined on each side of him, both grabbing one of his hands. Unable to hold it in anymore, George started to cry. He turned to his mum who held him close and cried her own tears for her lost son while Mr. Weasley held them both. Harry could feel Ginny shaking beside him and knew before looking at her that she was also crying. He squeezed her hand and motioned for her to join her family. Soon, all the remaining Weasley’s were in one huge, grieving embrace. Harry and Hermione stood back, not wanting to interrupt, but they heard George from somewhere in the middle of the pile say “Oi! You two. Don’t think you can get away from us that easily. You need to join in on this love fest.” Laughing and wiping her eyes, Ginny emerged from the group and grabbed Harry’s hand, dragging him into the circle while Ron did the same with Hermione. Soon, tears of grief became tears of laughter. Finally unwinding from each other, the group all stood in front of Fred’s coffin together. George asked Hermione if she could make a wreath of red, purple, and gold and she happily obliged.

The Minster of Magic, Kingsley Shacklebolt, walked up the Weasley family.

“I am so sorry for the loss of Fred,” he said, as he hugged Mrs. and Mr. Weasley. “I wanted to present your family with this though.. it’s in honor of his bravery and sacrifice.”

He presented them with a rectangle shaped box and inside was a bronze medal in the shape of three stars with a purple and gold striped ribbon attached to it with a bronze star in the middle of the ribbon. Mrs. Weasley accepted it with watery eyes and thanked him. Then she turned to George, who she handed the box to him. “I think you should have this.”

Stunned, George took the box and looked at the medal then back as his mum.

“Are you sure?” he asked.

She nodded and gave him a kiss on the cheek. He smiled, looked at the medal again, then closed it up and put it in his pocket.

Kingsley then turned to Harry. “Harry, I also have one for you as well. This is in honor of Remus Lupin. I talked to Mrs. Tonks and she accepted her daughter's medal but thought it would be a good idea if you held on to Lupin’s.”

Shocked, Harry took the medal handed to him. “Thank you Minister. But, shouldn’t this belong to Teddy?”

“Well, that will be up to you. When the time comes, and you want to give it to him, of course.”

Harry nodded, “Thank you, Minister. I’ll take good care of it until then.”

“I’m sure you will, Mr. Potter,” he said, shaking Harry’s hand and smiling at him. Then he spoke to the whole group. “Well, you all should go find your seats. The memorial service is about to begin.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed it!  
> 8/30/15: Minor edits added  
> 9/29/15: Minor edits added  
> Please leave a comment! :)


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait! Chapter 4 finally up!  
> 8/25/15 - Minor edits applied.  
> 8/30/15 - Minor edits applied.  
> 9/29/15 - Minor edits applied.  
> 

“The memorial service the Ministry put on was beautiful,” said Hermione, on the way back to the Burrow. Ginny nodded in agreement and the two girls talked quietly about what they liked most.

The atmosphere in the car was much more relaxed then it was on the way to the service. Being at the memorial and grieving together as a family seemed to have helped them all accept Fred’s death.

After the service, the family of the deceased were able to decide what to do with the body of their fallen family member. The Weasley’s decided to burry Fred in the Weasley Family Graveyard, which was located in a tiny town near the Burrow. The burial wasn’t due to happen until right before sunset, so everyone was going back to the Burrow for a while to get ready for the burial and then the wake, which was being held after.

“You know,” said George, as they walked into the Burrow’s kitchen, “I think instead of having a normal boring, sad, wake….we should have a party instead. Celebrate Fred instead of mourning him.”

Mrs. Weasley patted George’s arm and smiled warmly, “I think that’s a wonderful idea, dear. How about I send word out that no one is to wear black, only vibrant colors.”

George nodded, “Sounds great, Mum. Thanks,” he kissed her cheek and went up to his room, which was the first time he had been in there since they returned from Hogwarts.

* * *

Hermione and Ron were sitting at the kitchen table, talking quietly amongst themselves and drinking some butterbeer, when Harry walked in and sat next to Ron. “So how are travel plans coming along?” he asked, stealing Ron’s butterbeer and taking a sip.

Ron snatched his butterbeer back, smiling, while Hermione shook her head at the two, “Going well. We’ll be leaving the day after tomorrow.” She conjured up another butterbeer, and handed it to Harry.

“Thanks. How are you getting there? Airplane?”

Hermione shook her head, “No, I wanted too since Ron had never been on one before, but flying to and from Australia will be very expensive,” she sighed, taking a sip of her own butterbeer, “So we’re going to travel by portkey over there, then fly back to England with my parents later on.”

“We’re thinking of going to Diagon Alley tomorrow to do some shopping for the trip. Do you want to come?” asked Ron.

“Sure. I’ve been meaning to go over there anyways.”

“Go where?” asked Ginny, who had just entered the kitchen and sat next to Harry.  

A smile instantly grew on Harry’s face. “Diagon Alley. Want to come?”

Ginny smiled back, “I’ll never say no to a day out of shopping.”

“Then it’s settled,” said Hermione, “Tomorrow after breakfast we’ll head on over there.”

Mrs. Weasley walked in, and seeing the group sitting at the table, put her hands on her hips, “And just what do you lot think you’re doing? We have a party to get ready for!”

Everyone jumped out of their seats and went back to work getting ready for the party.

* * *

An hour before sunset, everyone met outside near the tent. With a wave of her wand, Mrs. Weasley turned on all the outside lanterns and checked one last time that everything was prepared for after the burial.

With a satisfied nod, the group made their way to the graveyard.

“I wish we still had that Ford Angelina,” said Ron, “We could have all piled into it instead of walking.”

Mrs. Weasley huffed. “That bloody car was nothing but trouble. Good riddance, I say. Besides, it will only take us about 10 minutes to walk there.”

“Why are we walking anyways?” asked Percy.

“Exercise, children, exercise.” said Mr. Weasley, “Besides, Ginny doesn’t have her apparition license yet --”

“I’ll get it soon enough.” Ginny said grumpily. “The stupid Carrows’ banned apparition lessons last year, so I have to wait until my 7th year.”

Harry slung his arm around her shoulder and kissed her temple as they walked, trying to sooth her anger. It worked, as her body relaxed and leaned into his as they continued walking to their destination.

They arrived at the graveyard and made their way among the tombstones. Just ahead of them was a white canopy tent. Under the tent was a pre-dug hole with a mound of dirt on one side and Fred’s coffin on the other.

Each person took a turn going under the tent to say their last goodbyes privately to Fred. George went last and when he returned to the group, he had tears streaming down his cheeks and smile on his face.

He hugged his parents. “I think I’m ready,” he said, as he let go of them.

As the sun was setting, Mr. Weasley, Charlie, Bill, and George all levitated the coffin into the hole, then Mrs. Weasley, Percy, Ron, and Ginny each levitated portions of the dirt next to it to fill it in.

The tombstone appeared once the dirt was returned to the ground, which read:

Fred Weasley  
April 1, 1978 - May 2, 1998  
Beloved Son & Brother  
“Mischief Managed”

Harry smiled at the inscription, knowing that only a very few people would understand it. Everyone silently turned to start walking home, when Ginny stopped.

“Hang on a second,” she said, as she lifted her wand one more time. She charmed the ground so that the bare dirt was now covered in thick grass, then another wave of her wand and white daisy’s popped up, forming the letter “F” on the mound. “There, now it will look like he is forever wearing one of Mum’s Christmas sweaters.”

George looked dumbfounded for a moment, then burst into laughter. “You’re amazing, Ginny,” he said, giving her bear hug.

“I know,” she said, grinning and hugging him back.

“Alright you lot, let’s get going to that party,” said Mrs. Weasley fighting back tears, “Ginny, you can side-along apparate with me, it will save time instead of walking back.”

“What? How come when I mentioned appara--” started Ron, but stopped short when Hermione took hold of his hand. She smiled at him, then shook her head as if to say _just go with it_.

One by one, everyone disapparated with a faint “pop” and was back at the Burrow, where the guests were starting to arrive.

* * *

“To Fred!” said George, raising his goblet.

“To Fred!” everyone chanted.

The party was in full swing. George was handing out samples of products from his store, Weasley Wizarding Wheezes, so there were fanged frisbees, hats that made heads disappear, and candy that turned skin different colors.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione were sitting at a table, trying out muggle card tricks, when Kingsley Shacklebolt walked over to them. “Is this seat taken?” he asked the group, motioning to an empty chair.

“No, Sir. All yours,” said Harry, shaking the Minister’s hand as he sat down next to him.

“So word has it, that you are looking for a job at the ministry, Mr. Potter?”

“That is correct, sir,” said Harry.

“Well, I have under proper authority to tell you that there may be some openings coming up soon…I believe your Headmistresses mentioned to me that your goal after Hogwarts was becoming an auror. Is that still true?”

Harry’s eyes widened, “Absolutely! I wasn’t sure if that would be even possible, since I’m not finishing school at Hogwarts and won’t have N.E.W.T. testing scores.”

Kingsley smiled, “I think we can work something out,” he stood up, “Why don’t you stop by Monday and we’ll talk some more, ok?”    

“Yes, sir!” Harry said enthusiastically, standing up and shaking his hand again.

Kingsley then looked at Ron and Hermione, “Same goes for you two as well,” he looked at Ron, “Your parents mentioned you were going on a trip tomorrow, so stop by my office after you get back and we can work something out.”

Ron stood up and shook Kingsley’s hand, “Yes, sir! Thank you!”

Hermione smiled, also shaking his hand, “Thank you so much. I am, however, going back to Hogwarts next term to finish my schooling, so I am afraid I will have to politely decline.”

“That’s alright Miss Granger. After you graduate we can still talk,” he said, giving her a wink as he shook her hand as well.

She beamed at him, “Thank you, Minister.”

After he walked away, Ron let out a “whoop!” and punched the air in excitement. “Bloody hell, Harry! We’re going to be aurors! REAL aurors! This calls for a drink. I’m going to go see if I can nip some firewhiskey from the kitchen.” He turned to Hermione, gave her a loud, smacking kiss, and ran off.  

Flushed, she sat back down, avoiding eye contact with Harry by shuffling the deck of cards on the table.

Harry chuckled to himself, shaking his head.

Holding two bottles of Butterbeer, Ginny walked over to the table, laughing, and looking over her shoulder, “What’s gotten into Ron? He just hugged me, willingly I might add, and said something about celebrating.” She sat next to Harry, handing him one of the butterbeers while she took a sip of the other.

“Thanks Gin,” said Harry, taking a sip of his own, “He’s just excited because Kingsley just stopped by to tell us that there are a few auror positions opening up and he wants to meet with us and talk about jobs.”

Ginny gasped, grabbing his hand, “Harry! That’s amazing! Congratulations!” she gave him a loud, smacking kiss, much like the one that Ron gave Hermione earlier.

Laughing, he kissed her back, “Well, don’t congratulate me just yet; I’m just supposed to go talk to him on Monday. I don’t want to get my hopes up until it actually happens.”

“Come on, Harry. We all know you pretty much have--,” started Hermione, before Ron showed up, looking around to make sure one was watching. He pulled out a bottle of firewhiskey from under his shirt then conjured up three shot glasses.

“Beat it, Ginny,” he said, pouring the amber liquid into the glasses.

Harry was about to say something, but Ginny put her hand up to stop him. She narrowed her eyes at her brother. “Excuse me? You don’t get to tell me what to do. If I want to sit here and watch my boyfriend take a shot of firewhiskey in celebration of landing a job that he has always wanted, I will. I’m not going to go tattling to Mum and Dad. In fact, why don’t you pour me one too.”

“No way. You’re not even of-age.”

“So. This wouldn’t be my first time,” she said hotly.

Ron gaped. “You’ve had firewhiskey before? I don’t believe you. When?”

Ginny shrugged, “Charlie let me try some last year.”

“Charlie? I’m gonna… well, probably nothing, but he really shouldn’t have given our baby sister hard alcohol.”

“Come on, Ron. Stop thinking of me as your baby sister. Younger, yes. Baby, no. I’m a big girl, I can take care of myself. In case you forgot, it was me, Nevill, and Luna who kept up with the D.A. at Hogwarts last year. It was us going against the Carrows. It was us going through torture during ‘detentions’. It was me who snuck into Snape’s office and...”

“Ok. Ok Ginny. You’re not a baby anymore. I get it,” he conjured up another shot glass, poured liquid into it, and handed it to her.

The four of them raised their glasses.

“To becoming aurors,” said Ron.

“To growing up,” said Ginny.

“To the four of us,” said Hermione.

“To Fred,” said Harry.

They each clinked their glasses together and drank.

****  
  



	5. Chapter 5

You guys almost ready? I want to get to Diagon Alley before it get’s busy… Ginny, what are you doing to Harry’s face?” asked Hermione, sitting next to them on the bench in the kitchen.   
“I’m attempting to cover Harry’s scar with some makeup… but he won’t... hold... still.” she said, as she held Harry’s face with one hand and applying some cream to his scar with the other.  
“Gin, I told you already, it’s fine. I’ll just wear a hat. It’s no big deal,” he said, trying to move his face, which was hard to do since Ginny had a good grip on him. She gave him a stern look and he stopped fidgeting.

Hermione looked at him quizzically, “You’re trying to hide your scar, Harry? How come?” she asked, as she took a piece of toast from the table and started nibbling on it.

Harry sighed. “I just want to have a day where my scar doesn’t attract everyone’s attention. With everything that has happened, everyone who sees me and this,” he pointed to his scar, “wants to shake my hand and thank me. I just wanted a normal day with my friends without being stopped every five minutes.”

“I have just the thing for you,” said George walking into the kitchen, handing Harry a hat.   
Harry looked at the hat curiously, “Isn’t this that headless hat you have at the shop? I don’t think walking around Diagon Alley headless is the answer to not wanting attention…”

“No, no. This is something that Fred and I were working on before,...” he cleared his throat before continuing, “Anyways, I’ve been finishing it up and I think it’s finally ready for a test run. Want to try it?”

“But what exactly does it do?” Harry asked, looking at the hat skeptically.

“It’s a hat that will project a new face on top of your own, so when people look at you, they won’t see you, but whatever image it’s showing. Here, put it on,” he took the hat and placed it on top of  Harry’s head, “Now, take your wand and tap the right side of the hat once.”

Pulling his wand out of his pocket, he hesitantly tapped the side of the hat. At once, Ginny and Hermione gasped, then started laughing. “What??” he asked panicked, getting up and looking into a mirror. Reflecting back at him was a girls face, with blue eyes, and freckles.

“Oops,” said George, stifling a laugh, “I got the sides wrong. The left side is for male faces while the right side is for females.”

Harry tapped the left side of the hat, and this time looking back from the mirror was a black boy with dark brown eyes.

“Hm, I think the different skin tones might throw everyone off..” Harry said, laughing. He tapped the hat again and a boy with a pale face, narrow nose, and hazel eyes stared back at him. “Not bad, George. This is actually pretty genius… Are you going to be selling these in the shop?”

“Sell what in the shop?” asked Ron, as he walked into the kitchen, pulling a t-shirt over his head. He stopped when he spotted Harry, “Um, who’s this bloke?” he asked.

“Ron, it’s me, Harry. I’m testing out a new product that George came up with,” Harry said, as he took off the hat, which immediately changed his face back to normal.

“Woah!” said Ron, taking the hat from Harry and looking it over. “That’s pretty wicked. What are you calling it?” he asked George.

“Well, Fred came up with the idea, and he was joking around calling it ‘The Many-Faces of Fred’, so…. probably that,” said George with a shrug.

“I think it’s awesome. I say mass-produce and start selling,” said Harry.

George smiled at him, “Will do.” He put his hand out to Ron, who gave him back the hat grudgingly, then offered it back to Harry. “Do you want to use it today?”

“Nah. Ginny already put in so much time covering up my scar, I don’t want her work to go un-used,” he said, giving her a wink which caused her to laugh, “Thanks, though.”

George shook his head, laughing to himself. “Alright. Well,” he walked over to the fireplace mantel, grabbed a handful of green powder from a jar, and threw into the fireplace. “I’m going to head into the shop for a bit, see how things are, and get back to work. I’ll see you guys there?”

He stepped into the fireplace and said “Weasley Wizarding Wheezes” and vanished with a cloud of green smoke.

* * *

**  
  
**

“So where do you guys want to go first?” asked Hermione as the four of them entered Diagon Alley together. Ron was walking next to her, an arm casually across her shoulders; Harry and Ginny were behind them, holding hands.

“I need to stop by Gringotts then get some new clothes,” said Harry. “Most of my stuff is either school robes or trashed from the last few months, so I figured I might as well get some new things.”

“I want to check out the new muggle clothes shop that just opened.” said Ginny, pointing to a shop across the street called ‘Muggle-R-Us’.

“Oh! I wanted to go there too,” said Hermione excitedly, “I’m hoping to get a new outfit or two for our trip. I’ve been going to Wizard shops for so long now that I haven’t been into a muggle one in forever!”

“How about Harry and I go to Gringotts while you girls go clothes shopping?” suggested Ron, “It always takes a while there anyways so this way you _might_ be done by the time we get back.”

Hermione glared at him teasingly, “Even though I know you’re teasing, that’s not a bad idea.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out a bag of wizard coins, handing it to Ron, “Can you exchange this for muggle money? We’ll need it for our trip. Meet us at the shop when you’re done, ok?” she hastily gave Ron a kiss on the cheek then she and Ginny ran across the street and into the shop.

Harry and Ron walked side by side to Gringotts, noticing that the big hole where the dragon burst through a few weeks ago was already patched up. “You know, I just thought of something,” said Ron, as they were crossing the street to the bank, “What if they don’t let us in? You know, since we freed their dragon and damaged the whole place in the process?”

Harry thought about it. “I guess we’ll just have to see,” he said, as he opened the door to the bank.

No alarms went off as they walked in, so Harry took that as a good sign. They walked along the rows of goblins at their desks and went to to first available one.

“Excuse me, I’d like to take some money out of my vault, please,” said Harry.

“What is the vault number?” asked the Goblin, without looking up from his work.

“Vault 687.”

The goblin looked up slowly from his desk. “Vault 687 you say? May I please have your wand for verification?”

Harry handed him his wand. The Goblin inspected it, then eyed Harry. “So. Mr. Potter has returned to Gringotts Wizarding Bank. Did you not think we would remember what happened the last time you were here?”

“Look, I’m sorry for what happened --” he started, but the goblin interrupted him.

“Even though you attempted to sneak into our bank by having one of your friends impersonate as someone else; using the Imperius curse on one of our own; freeing one of our dragons; and destroying the bank in the process….. we have agreed, upon much counseling, what to do the next time you came in here. We have every right to turn you away once and for all…”

Harry started to argue, but the goblin held up a hand, “I am not finished. Like I said, we have every right to turn you away for everything you did. However. Since your vault is one of great value, it would be... _unwise_... for us to let all that value leave our establishment. So, you may keep your gold here. We will continue to keep it safe. As long as you do not ever try and break into Gringotts again. Is that understood, Mr. Potter?”

Harry nodded his head. “Yes, understood.”

“Good. I will take you to your vault now.” The goblin hopped down from his chair, gave Harry back his wand, and lead him, with Ron following, behind the desks to where the carts were to take them the vaults.

“He cannot go with us,” the goblin said, referring to Ron. “New policy. If one is not going into a vault, they may not go into the vault storage area.”

“Sorry, mate,” said Harry apologetically, “I won’t take long.”

Ron nodded, “I’m going to exchange the money Hermione gave me then meet you outside, ok?”

“Sounds good,” said Harry as he got into the cart with the goblin.

Ten minutes later, Harry found Ron outside of Gringotts, sitting on a bench, sipping an ice-cold lemonade. Upon seeing Harry, he got up and walked over to meet him. “Everything go ok? He didn’t give you issues once you were in the vault, did he?”

“Nah, he just let me in, I got what I needed, and left,” he wiped sweat from his brow, then glanced at the lemonaid. “Where did you get that at? It’s really hot today. I think I’ll get one too, and maybe some for the girls as well.”

Ron pointed to Florean Fortescue’s Ice Cream Parlour, “Over there. Apparently his daughter took over the business and re-opened the shop last week.”

Harry and Ron went over to the parlour, ordered three more lemonades, then went to the clothing store that Hermione and Ginny were at.

After walking around the store and not finding the girls in any of the clothing sections, Ron started to worry. “Where are they? We told them we’d meet them in here. You don’t think they went looking for us, do you?”

Harry looked around the store again, spotting the dressing room area. “No, I bet they’re in the changing room, trying on clothes. Come on, let’s go see.”

As they got closer, they could hear the girls talking to each other from the stalls.

“Does yours fit? I think mine fits… I just don’t know...I haven’t bought one of these in a while...“ fretted Hermione from her stall.

“I bet it’s fine,” reassured Ginny from her stall, “I just got mine on. Come out and let’s make sure they look ok, alright?”

The boys sat on seats just outside of the dressing room, a wall separating them, listening to the exchange. They heard two doors open then some squealing.

“Oh! I really like that on you Ginny!” said Hermione, at the same time Ginny said “That looks amazing on you!”

“Ginny? Hermione? Just letting you know we’re back.” called Harry.

“And we brought lemonade for you.” added Ron.

“Ron!” said Hermione alarmed. “Don’t come in here, ok? We’ll be out in a minute.”

“Hang on, why don’t we get their opinion?” asked Ginny.

Hermione gave a whispered protest, not audible for the boys to hear.

“Our opinion on what?” asked Harry curiously.

“Well….” said Ginny, as she emerged from the dressing room area. “On on our new bathing suits.” It took everything in Harry to not let let his mouth drop. Ginny was wearing a tankini bikini set. The top was in deep purple with little gold hearts all over it, while the bottoms were a matching purple color with a gold waistband. She looked at Harry, biting her lip nervously. “So… what do you think?”

Images of he and Ginny, curled up on a blanket by the lake, alone, ran through his mind. _Oh, you don’t want to know what I think,_ he thought to himself. He cleared his throat and smiled. “It looks.. amazing. Really amazing Ginny.”

Ron elbowed him, “Stop oogling my sister, Potter.”

Ginny smiled wide. “Thanks, Harry. You should see Hermione…. Hermione! Come out here. Come on...” laughing, she went back into the changing area and dragged out a reluctant Hermione. Ron’s mouth dropped open. Hermione was wearing a simple, one piece suit in dark blue, the fabric gathering along the sides to enhance the body’s shape.

Hermione blushed, looking at Ron, then Harry, then back to Ron, “...Well?”

Ron was still gaping at Hermione then Harry elbowed him, finally breaking Ron of his trance. “You look beautiful, Hermione,” he finally managed to say.

Hermione smiled and blushed, looking to Ginny.

“That’s settled. We’re getting them,” said Ginny firmly to Hermione. Then she looked at the guys, “Why don’t you two look around, we have a few more things to try on. Hermione and I were talking about maybe going to a lake or something later today, which inspired us to look at the bathing suits, so you might want to check on some swimwear for yourselves.” She gave Harry a wink, then followed Hermione back into the changing area.

“Oh, and Ron,” said Hermione from her changing stall, “You might want to look into getting some warmer clothes to bring with us on our trip. It might be hot here, but it’s cold in Australia this time of year.”

Ron frowned, looking at Harry, “Really?”

Harry shrugged, “If Hermione says so, it must be true.”

 

A half hour later, armed with shopping bags full of clothes, the group emerged from the store.

“Harry, are you _sure_ you are ok with buying all of this? You really didn’t need to…” began Hermione.

“Hermione, for the last time, yes. I’ve been trying to think of a way to say thank you for doing everything you and Ron did for me while we were out looking for Horcruxes. I figured new clothes would be a good way to go about it. I don’t know about you, but everything I owned was getting ragged and dirty from being worn so much.”

“Yes, that’s true, but..”

“Then please, just say thank you and drop it, ok?” he said, smiling at her.

Sighing and shaking her head, she smiled back and gave him a hug, “Thank you, Harry. That was very thoughtful.”

The group walked down the sidewalk, when Hermione stopped and pointed, “Oh look! Ollivander is back! Let’s go say hi.”

They walked up to the wand shop where Ollivander was sweeping the doorway. “Hello Mr. Ollivander, how are you?” asked Hermione as they approached him.

He looked up and gave them a smile, “Why, hello there Ms. Granger. And to you as well Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley, Ms. Weasley. I am doing better, thank you. Just cleaning up the shop and getting it ready for all the new, young students who will be needing wands this upcoming year.”

“Do you need any help?” Hermione offered.

“No, no. That’s quite alright. I got it. Feels good to be able to something for myself again,” he gave her smile, then looked to Harry, “Mr. Potter, I was curious… were you able to get another wand since yours was broken beyond repair? Or will you be needing to get a new one? The shop isn’t open yet, but I can make an exception for you.”

Harry shook his head, “Thank you sir, but I was able to fix my wand.”

“Oh?” asked Ollivander, “How was that possible?”  
Harry gave him a smile, “You know the Elder wand we talked about the last time we saw you? We found it.”

Ollivander’s eyes widened and whispered, “The Elder wand? It exists?”

“Yes, sir. I used it to fix my wand before returning it to it’s rightful place. It won’t be able to get into the wrong hands ever again.”

“I would have loved to see it, just to study the properties of it. But, it’s best that it cannot be used ever again. Too much power for just one person is bad…” he put a hand on Harry’s shoulder, “I’m glad it was you who found it. And you did the right thing.” He squeezed Harry’s shoulder gently, then went back to sweeping.

After saying their goodbye’s to Ollivander, the group made their way over to Weasley Wizarding Wheezes. On the way there, they passed Eeylops Owl Emporium. Ron decided to go in and get some treats for Pig while Hermione followed him into the store. Harry waited outside the shop, looking in the window at all the different owls on display. Ginny stood next to him and held his hand, squeezing it gently. “Would you like to go in and look around?” she asked gently.  

Harry shook his head, “No. I don’t think I’m ready for another owl just yet.”

Ginny nodded then put her head on his shoulder, leaving Harry to his thoughts as they waited for Ron and Hermione.

The group finally made their way to Weasley Wizarding Wheezes to say hi George before heading back to the Burrow.

“Sorry that we can’t stay long,” said Harry, then nodded towards Ginny and Hermione who were looking at the Pygmy Puffs, “The girls want to go to a lake to hang out for a bit, so we need to head back before it gets too late.”

“Plus, I’m starving,” added Ron, “Hope Mum saved us some lunch.”

“I see things never change with Ron,” said Angelina Johnson, as she emerged from the stockroom carrying boxes.

“Angelina!” said Harry surprised. “I didn’t know you worked here.”

She set down the boxes and gave Harry a hug, “I just started actually. I came over to see how George was doing and he offered me a job in the store. I figured work was work, so, here I am.”

“That’s great!”

“Speaking of work, get back to it. Those products won’t stock themselves you know” said George teasingly, giving Angelina a wink.

“Man, he’s so _bossy_ ,” she said to Harry. Then she smiled and said, “Well, see ya around.” She turned to walk away, then added in a whisper “Oh, and don’t worry, I’ll keep an eye on him.”

Harry whispered back, “Thanks, I appreciate it,” then added in a more audible volume, “Bye Angelina.”

“Why don’t you lot use my office to floo back home?” offered George.

“That would be great, thanks” said Harry.

Ginny, Ron, Harry, and Hermione said their goodbyes then made their way home to the Burrow.

 ****  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoy this chapter as much I enjoyed writing it! Finally a break from all the sad ones.  
> Thanks for reading!
> 
> 9/2/15 - Edits applied  
> 9/29/15 - Edits applied


	6. Chapter 6

“Where did that car come from?” asked Ron, who had emerged from the Burrow, holding some towels and sunscreen in his hands. Ginny, who had a picnic basket filled with food hanging from her arm that Mrs. Weasley had packed for them, followed closely behind him. Parked in front of the Burrow was a red VW Bug, with a white convertible top that was currently down.

Hermione smiled at him proudly and said, “It’s mine. Mum and Dad got it for me a few years ago.” She looked back to the car and looked it over, “It’s still in pretty good condition, even if it has been in the garage for a while.”

“How did it get here?” asked Ginny, setting the basket of food down to go look at the car up close.

“I used a teleportation spell. Took a few tries as I’ve never tried to teleport anything so far away, but I finally got it. I figured we could just drive to the lake instead of apparating for once. Like a muggle road trip.”

Ron frowned, looking at her. “If you’ve had this car all this time…. why didn’t we use it at all while we were in hiding? And how come you’ve never told me about it before?”

“Because, Ronald, a car needs maintenance, and petrol, which means money, which we certainly didn’t have a lot of with us. It also would have restricted where we could have stayed and how to get there. Apparating was much more faster, easier, and safer…”

“Speak for yourself. _You_ didn’t get splinched!” said Ron heatedly.

“That was only because I had to get us away from Grimmauld place as fast as possible! And I’ve already apologized for that! Plus--” began Hermione, just as heated.

“Oh, please stop arguing you two,” said Ginny, getting annoyed.

Hermione took a deep breath then exhaled, “Sorry, Ginny,” then she looked at Ron, “I’m sorry I never told you about the car before. I never even thought it would be a big deal. And maybe you’re right, I should have at least mentioned it to you but---”

“What was that you just said?” interrupted Ron, smiling, and walking over to her, “You said I was….. _‘right’_ ”?

Fighting back a smile, she said  “So what if I did?” She playfully tried to push him away, but Ron grabbed her hands to pull her close. He leaned down to kiss her softly and when they broke apart, they were both smiling. “Guess I should tell you that you’re right more often, huh?” she said, leaning in to kiss him some more.

Ginny smiled and rolled her eyes, picking up the basket, “I’ll just put this stuff in the boot while you two make up.”

She went to the back of the car and opened it up. “Um…. Hermione? Why is your engine in the boot?”

Laughing, Hermione walked over to Ginny, “That’s because this type of a vehicle has the engine in the back and the boot in the front.” She walked over to the front and opened it up, “See? Plenty of room for everything. I won’t even need to put an extending charm on it.”

Ginny put the basket of food in while Ron tossed in all the towels and lotions. Hermione had already placed a few blankets and a change of clothes for everyone earlier that day.

“I think we’re all set,” said Hermione, then she looked around and frowned, “Anyone seen Harry?”

Ginny motioned towards the house, “He said was going to change into his swim trunks then be out. I’ll go see what’s holding him up.”

Ginny checked the first level of the Burrow but saw no sign of Harry. She made her way up the stairs towards Ron’s room, which he and Harry shared. The door was ajar, and she peered in. Harry was sitting on the side of the bed, holding the box that held the medal that Kingsley gave to him for Lupin. Ginny couldn’t help but notice that he looked very sad.

She knocked softly a few times and said, “Harry?”

He looked up, a bit startled, and closed the box. “Hey Gin. Sorry, I got side-tracked. I’m ready to go if everyone else is.”

She walked into the room and sat next to him on the bed as he looked down at the closed box. She took her hand and gently lifted his head so that he was facing her and looked into his eyes, noting that they still held a bit of sadness. “You alright, Harry? We don’t have to go the lake if you don’t want too.”

“No, I want to go. I’m fine. I just saw this,” he motioned to the box, then placed it on the nightstand, “and started thinking about Lupin, that’s all.” He forced a smile, then stood up, and held out a hand for her. “I’m ready to go if you are.”

She took his hand and let him help her up, “Ok. But Harry, I hope you know that I’m here for you if you ever wanted to talk, ok?”

He gave her a kiss then rested his forehead against hers. “I know. Thanks Gin. But I’m ok. I promise.”

She nodded, still not quite believing him, but decided to not push it for now.

They made their way downstairs and out the door, where Mr. Weasley was checking out the engine of Hermione’s car while Mrs. Weasley stood off the side, looking worried. Hermione was standing next to her, trying to reassure her, “I promise it’s safe, Mrs. Weasley. I took a test which I passed with flying colors, and I have a license. And it’s not enhanced with any type of magic, so we won’t be flying. We will just be driving on the road to the lake and back.”

Harry leaned over and asked Ginny quietly, “Hermione has a car?”

Ginny smile and nodded, grabbing his hand and leading him over to the vehicle.

“I call front seat,” said Ginny, as they got closer.

Ron looked up, “What? No, I get front seat. She’s _my_ girlfriend.”

“Well, she’s _my_ friend. Besides, did you ask to sit in the front?”  
  
“No, but...”

“Then, I am,” she said, as she opened the front door and sat in the passenger side.

Ron glowered at his sister. Harry came over and put an arm around Ron’s shoulders, “Don’t worry Ronny-kins, I’ll keep you company in the back seat,” he said jokingly, making kissing sounds towards him.

Ron shoved him away, laughing, “Alright fine. But I get the front seat on the way back.”

Ginny put on a pair of sunglasses, then turned around to look at Ron, “Works for me.”

* * *

The drive to the lake was relaxing and uneventful, much to Harry’s pleasure. There was the occasional protest from Ron about the music on the radio, but Hermione stated that the driver gets to pick the music and if no one liked it, they could perform _muffliato_ on themselves. Harry never really had a preference on music, but he enjoyed watching the girls, mostly Ginny, dance and sing along to songs performed by American bands called Backstreet Boys and N’Sync. “These are what muggles call ‘boy bands’. They are very popular right now,” informed Hermione, as she sang along to the current song on the radio.

They reached the lake mid-afternoon, which gave them plenty of daytime left to play in the water and hang out before it got too dark. Hermione parked the car between two large willow trees that provided lots of shade. Slightly downhill from the trees was the bank of the lake as well as a small pier that went into the deeper part of the water. Hermione and Ginny got out the two blankets and each set one under a different tree. Harry gathered his and Ginny’s things and brought it over to the blanket that Ginny was at, while Ron did the same with his and Hermione’s belongings.

Harry went back to rummage through the boot, when Ginny called over to him, “Harry? Can you bring me the sunscreen please? I don’t want to burn into a crisp while we’re here.”

“Sure thing,” he looked around the boot, finally spotting one of the sunscreens, “Found it,” he said. He walked over to where Ginny was at to give her the sunscreen when he stopped in his tracks. She had shed her t-shirt and shorts, wearing the new bathing suit she had modeled for them at the shop. Ginny was in the process of putting up her hair in a ponytail, when she caught sight of him and smiled. “What?” she asked, walking over to him.

He smiled back, “Nothing, just thinking how you look really, _really_ good in that swimsuit.”

She rolled her eyes playfully, “Well, duh. That’s why I got it,” she gave him a wink then took the sunscreen from his hand.

As she was applying the cream to her legs and arms, Harry took off his t-shirt so that he was just in his new swim trunks, which were all black except for two red stripes down each side.

“Here,” said Ginny, handing him the lotion, “You’re just as pale as me.”  
He laughed, “Well that’s what happens when you go into hiding… not a lot of opportunity to just sit outside and get a tan you know.”

“Well, you’re not in hiding anymore, so we’ll work on your tan this summer, ok?” She kissed his cheek then said, “Would you like help getting lotion on your back?”

He handed her the sunscreen, “Yes, please.”

She rubbed some cream in her hands for a second, so that it wasn’t too cold, then rubbed it into his back. Harry closed his eyes, enjoying the warmth and feel of her hands. When she was done, he turned around and held her close, giving her a kiss, “Thanks” he said with a smile.

She smiled back, “Anytime.” She leaned in to kiss him again, when Ron called out, “OI! You two ready to go swimming or are you just going to snog all day?” He and Hermione had started walking onto the pier and he was standing there, with his arms crossed over his bare chest, wearing his new white and grey swim trunks.

Harry and Ginny looked at Ron, then back at each other and smiled. Knowing what the other was thinking, they both ran towards Ron, grabbed an arm, and tossed him into the lake.

* * *

**  
  
**

The four friends spent a few hours swimming in the lake, then ate the dinner that Mrs. Weasley had packed for them on the dock, sitting side by side, feet dangling in the water. When they were done eating, the boys jumped back into the lake one last time, while the girls watched.

“So are you nervous about your trip tomorrow?” Ginny asked Hermione, as she bit into a biscuit.

“A little,” admitted Hermione, retrieving a biscuit for herself out of the basket and taking a bite, “Not the traveling part, since it’s by portkey, but once we get there we have to actually find my parents. Hopefully the strands of hair I have of my mum will be enough for the locator spell I’ve looked up, otherwise, we’ll basically be searching the whole continent for them.”

“I’m kind of surprised you didn’t leave to go find them right away…” confessed Ginny.

Hermione looked down at her half eaten biscuit in her hand, “I wanted to. I wanted to leave the day we left Hogwarts and came to the Burrow… but, I just couldn’t.”

“Why not? We would have understood.”

“I know. I just couldn’t leave Harry without knowing he’d be alright.” She looked up, watching Ron and Harry dunk each other under water and laughing. “He could have come out of that whole ordeal so much worse. He probably still will have some side effects….”

“Side effects? Like what?”

“Like… post traumatic stress. He’s been through so much, it’s a wonder he isn’t a mess right now.”

Ginny nodded, also watching the boys. “I think I understand. And I think at the moment, he’s just putting on a front so that we don’t worry about him. But it’s not fooling me.” She put her arm around Hermione and gave her a side-hug, “I’ll keep an eye on him while you’re gone. I’m worried about him too.”

Hermione smiled, “I’m happy to know he’s in good hands now. And I’m really happy you two are together again.” She turned to look at Ginny, “He really needs you. The time apart from you was really rough for him. So I think you just being with him is helping him get through whatever he’s trying to work out himself.”

Ginny was about to say something, when Ron yelled, “Hey, you girls are looking quite cozy over there. Should we leave you two alone for a bit?”

Ginny stuck out her tongue and kicked water towards him, splashing him in the face, which sparked a splashing war, girls against boys, until a truce was called and they all made their way back to shore to dry off and start getting ready to head back.

Harry grabbed Ginny’s towel and wrapped it around her shoulders, before getting his own and wrapping it around himself. He sat down on the blanket and leaned against the giant tree trunk. Ginny sat in front of him and leaned back into him, so he wrapped his towel around them both and settled in to relax for a bit. The sun was beginning to set and they sat in silence, enjoying the warmth of its dying rays and the comfort of each other’s company. After a while, Ginny murmured to Harry how they should probably be packing up the car and heading home before it gets too dark or Mrs. Weasley would worry. They unwrapped from the towels and went to check on Hermione and Ron, when they noticed that they were both sound asleep on their blanket; Ron stretched out on his back with Hermione curled up against him.

Harry smiled and shook his head, “Guess we’re not leaving quite yet. Would you fancy a stroll around the lake?” he asked, as he offered his hand to her.

Ginny smiled at him, intertwining her fingers with his, “Why yes, yes I would.”

They walked along the shore of the lake, stopping every now and again when they spotted an interesting rock, insect, or animal that crossed their path. Some small, white flowers were blooming near the shore and Harry picked one and stuck it in Ginny’s hair.

After a while they decided to turn back, since the lake was too big to walk all the way around, to see if Hermione and Ron were awake and ready to go. Harry jokingly offered to give Ginny a piggy-back ride back to the car and she surprised him but jumping onto his back. He carried her the whole way, both of them laughing, until they got back to where Ron and Hermione were. They had already woken up and were starting to pack up when they arrived.

“Where’d you two run off too? We dozed off for a moment and when we woke up, you were gone,” asked Ron, shoving stuff into the boot of the car.

“Just a walk around the lake,” said Ginny, hopping off Harry’s back. “Need any help packing up?”

“Nah, this was the last of it,” said Ron, closing the boot.

Hermione put on her t-shirt and shorts over her swimsuit and was getting into the car to start it up and said, “Your clothes are in the back seat if you want to change into them before heading back.”

Ginny grabbed Harry’s shirt and tossed it to him, then grabbed her stuff and put them over her swimsuit.

Since the night was clear and still warm, they left the convertible top down on the drive back to the Burrow. Ron was happy, finally sitting in the front, asking Hermione about all the knobs and buttons. Harry sat in the back, an arm around Ginny, looking up at the clear sky, watching the stars twinkle to life. He soon realized that Ginny had become heavy on his shoulder, which meant that she had fallen asleep. He rested his head on hers and dozed off as well.

“Harry. Ginny. We’re back,” said Hermione, as she turned off the car's engine. Harry opened his eyes and stretched, which woke up Ginny.

“Back so soon?” she mumbled, before leaning against Harry once more, trying to go back to sleep.

Harry kissed the top of her head, which resulted in her smiling and opening her eyes. “Guess sleeping in the car all the night wouldn’t be very comfortable.” She yawned and stretched, then both she and Harry got out of the vehicle and helped carry things into the house.

After putting everything away, the group sat in the living room, talking about the next day. “So, Ron and I will be leaving early tomorrow and--”  
  
“Wait, how early is ‘ _early_ ’?” asked Ron.

“Five in the morning,” she said, “I got the portkey by owl today while we were gone and that was our scheduled time slot.”

Ron made a disgusted face, “Ugh.”

Hermione ignored him and continued talking, “Anyways, I wasn’t sure if you two would be up when we left so I wanted to say goodbye to you now and also say good luck to you, Harry.”

“Good luck? For what? Oh! My meeting with Kingsley! Right, thanks Hermione,” he gave her a smile. “I actually have something for you. Call it another thank-you gift, from me to you and your family.” He reached into his pocket and took out an envelope. Inside was some muggle money.

“Harry? What’s this for?” asked Hermione, taking the envelope hesitantly.

“I want you to use that money to by First Class plane tickets back to London, after you’ve found your parents. There should be enough for four tickets.”

“Oh, Harry. You really shouldn’t have…” began Hermione.

“I know,” he interrupted her, “but I did, so please just accept it or I’ll just have to sneak it into your things before you leave.”

Hermione sighed, knowing arguing would be useless, “Alright. Thank you Harry.” She got up and gave him a hug, “Well, I’m going to head upstairs to double check everything is ready to go for tomorrow, then go to bed.” She gave Ginny a hug and a quick kiss to Ron, before heading upstairs to the bedroom.

Harry stood up and ran a hand through his hair, “I think I’m going to shower, then head to bed myself. I want to make sure I don’t smell like lake water before I go talk to Kingsley. Have fun on the trip Ron and I’ll owl you and let you know what he says, ok?”

“Sounds good, see ya Harry.” When Harry had gone upstairs, Ron slouched on the couch, grumpily, “I know he’s your boyfriend and my best mate and all, but I really wish he’d stop throwing his money in our face.”

Ginny frowned at her brother. “I don’t think he’s throwing money in our face, Ron. At least not on purpose. I think he’s carrying a lot of guilt with him on everything that has happened and he doesn’t feel that just saying sorry is good enough. So, he’s doing what he thinks will help us out.” She got up and playfully threw a throw pillow at him, which he blocked just before it hit him in the stomach. “Anyways, I thought it was sweet that he got you guys money for airplane tickets, but, if it’ll help your ego, I’ll talk to him about it.”

Ron sighed, getting up from the couch, “No, it’s alright. I guess I understand where you’re coming from. Anyways, I’m heading to bed, I’ll see you in a week or so, Ginny,” he gave his sister a quick hug and walked upstairs, muttering to himself about how five in the morning is way too early to do anything except sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!  
> 9/29/15 - Minor edits applied.  
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	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Harry yawned and stretched his arms above his head as he walked downstairs to the kitchen the next morning. Ginny was already there, sitting at the table across from her parents. Mrs. Weasley was serving heaping spoonfuls of eggs onto Mr. Weasley’s plate as Harry sat down next to Ginny.

“Good morning, Harry dear. I was just about to wake you. I figured you could go to the Ministry with Arthur this morning,” she said, as she started to pile eggs and bacon onto his plate as well.

“Thank you, Mrs. Weasley,” he said, taking a bite from a piece of bacon. He turned to Ginny and gave her a smile, “G’morning, Gin,” he said.

“Morning, Harry,” she said, smiling back at him. She leaned over and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before continuing to eat her own breakfast.

Harry looked around the kitchen while eating, realizing that it seemed awfully empty. Bill was at Shell Cottage with Fleur; Charlie had left to Romania on another assignment; Percy had gone back to his flat in London; George was back at the shop; and Ron was in Australia with Hermione.

Harry sighed and continued to eat his breakfast when he looked up and saw Mr. and Mrs. Weasley having a silent conversation with each other, with a lot of raised eyebrows and head gesturing towards he and Ginny.

“Is…. everything ok?” he asked tentatively.

Ginny looked up at her parents, who were still silently trying to decide who was going to talk first. “Mum? Dad? What’s going on?”

“Oh, it’s nothing dear, it’s just that…well,” began Mrs. Weasley, “We need to talk about some rules, seeing as how you and Harry are together and you’re the only ones left staying at the house….”

“What do you mean by “ _rules_ ”? There are no _rules_ for any my brothers when they have girlfriends over,” said Ginny, starting to get angry.

“Yes, well, that’s because there are so many of you that we never really had to worry about that kind of stuff. But, now…” Mrs. Weasley looked hopefully at Mr. Weasley.

“But now we need to make sure... I mean, that we all agree on, um….” said Mr. Weasley, who looked back at Mrs. Weasley, obviously uncomfortable with this conversation.

“We’re just taking precautions, dear, that’s all,” finished Mrs. Weasley.

Harry’s face turned red, “Oh. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. There’s nothing like that going on. I swear. I respect Ginny, and you two, too much, for any of… well, that to happen, especially under your roof. Not-that-we’d-sneak-out-and-go-do-that!” he added hastily, “I just meant, that that’s not happening between us.”

Mrs. Weasley gave him a smile and reached out to pat his hand. “That’s very reassuring Harry, but be as it may, we should still probably set some ground rules…”

“Unbelieveable,” muttered Ginny, who pushed her breakfast plate away and crossed her arms.

“First, we don’t mind if you two hang out in each others rooms, but doors must remain open,” began Mrs. Weasley.

Mr. Weasley, who had began to eat his breakfast again, nodded in agreement.

“Second, we don’t mind, or care, that you two snog, just please keep it to a minimum in public.”

“So, we can snog all we want, just not publicly, but we can’t be anywhere private together,” said Ginny angrily.

“There are plenty of private places around here, just not behind closed doors in our house.”

“I can’t believe this…” said Ginny, standing up, “I’m almost of of-age!”

“Yes, _almost_ , but until then, you will respect our rules. Do you understand, young lady,” Mrs. Weasley spoke those last words sternly, which caused Ginny to sit down.

“Yes ma’am,” she mumbled.

“And lastly, if you two ever decide to… become sexual…”

Mr. Weasley choked on his coffee; Harry pailed, not believing he’s having this talk with the Weasley’s; and Ginny put her face in her hands, embarrassed.

“We have things you can use for protection. They are under the bathroom sink. With six boys in the house we’ve come to the conclusion that we’ll replenish as needed and not ask questions. Or, if either of you prefer, there are potions… ”

“Mum! Stop, please! We get it. Besides, I already take a monthly potion,” Ginny said matter-of-factly.

“Oh?” said Mrs. Weasley, taken aback, “Well, good for you dear. Glad to see you have been taking precautions…”

Ginny laughed, “Mum, relax. I haven’t done…. _that_ , yet. With anyone. But I want to be prepared for whenever I do.”

Harry shifted uncomfortably in his seat, only looking at the rest of his uneaten breakfast.

Mr. Weasley hurriedly finished his breakfast, then stood up, “Well, lovely talk. I’m going to go get ready for work. Er.. Harry, I’ll meet you by the fireplace in about 30 minutes?” After Harry’s nod of agreement, Mr. Weasley left the kitchen as fast as he could.

Harry cleared his throat, “I really should go get ready for my meeting. Um,” he looked over at Mrs. Weasley, “Thanks for breakfast. I’ll see you before I head out, Gin.”

After Harry left the kitchen, Ginny looked at her mom, then started to giggle. “I can’t believe you just tried to give Harry Potter, the “boy who lived” the sex talk. Geeze Mum.”

Mrs. Weasley’s face flushed briefly, then she shrugged as she started clearing the table.

* * *

**  
  
**

Harry dressed in a white button down shirt, black tie, and pants under his black dress robes for his meeting with Kingsley. He wasn’t sure how formal this meeting was supposed to be, but he figured he’d better dress for the job, just incase.

He met Mr. Weasley in front of the fireplace, where they each said goodbye to Mrs. Weasley and Ginny. Harry hastily gave Ginny a chaste kiss goodbye, but she grabbed his face and kissed him, hard, before wishing him good luck.

They each took turns taking the Floo to the Ministry; Harry went first, then Mr. Weasley. The first thing Harry noticed upon walking into the entrance of the Ministry, was that the “Magic is Might” statue had been removed. And even though there seemed to be less people than usual, it seemed busier than the last time Harry had been there.

Mr. Weasley led Harry to Kingsley Shacklebolt’s office then bade Harry good luck and left for his own office. Harry took a deep breath and knocked on the Minister of Magic’s door.

“Come in,” he heard Kingsley call.

Harry opened the door and looked around. On one side of the wall were bookshelves, crammed with all types of books imaginable, while the other had a fireplace, with rows of file cabinets on either side. Straight ahead was a giant window and in front of that was a huge mahogany desk. Sitting at the desk was Kingsley, writing quickly on a piece of paper. He looked up and greeted Harry with a smile, “Ah, Harry Potter. Good to see you. Come in, come in. Have a seat,” he waved his wand and a chair appeared in front of his desk, “I just have to write this quick memo and I’ll be right with you.”

Harry sat down as Kingsley went back to writing. When he was finished, he folded the note into a simple paper airplane, then tapped it. The memo flew around his office and then out through a tiny window above the door, disappearing to its destination.

“Sorry about that,” he said, standing up to shake Harry’s hand. “It’s good to see you, Harry. I’m glad you came in. I’ll cut straight to the point: I think we can really use your help at the Ministry.”

“Me, sir? How so?” Harry asked, sitting back down in his seat.

“Well, there was a lot of corruption going on within these walls the last few years, I’m sure you know all too well of that.” Harry nodded, absently rubbing the faint scars on the back of his hand his hand, as Kingsley continued, “We are currently working our way through each department and seeing how we can fix everything and catch those involved in all wrongdoings. We’ve lost a lot people; some have died in battle; others are on the run because they think they can get away with what they did. Either way, we need to start re-hiring, in all departments. That’s where you come in. We need Aurors. We need to revolutionize the system within these walls and get things back to the way they should be. We need help rounding up Death Eaters that have gotten away from us. You’ve already proven you’re perfect for the job. What do you say, Mr. Potter, do you want to work for the Ministry and become an Auror?”

“Yes, sir!” said Harry enthusiastically, “When can I start? I can start today if you like.”

Kingsley chuckled, “Well, you’ll first need to go through some training and then a few aptitude tests, just to see where you are skill wise. Training usually takes up to three years, but, to be honest, we just don’t have the time to train everyone for that long. It’s very rare that we hire new Aurors to begin with, but, with the numbers we have now, the fact of the matter is, we need people. The remaining aurors will begin to train you, starting next week, and see how well you do. You might want to brush up on Potions, Charms, Transfiguration, and Herbology. Of course, Defense Against the Dark Arts is also a must, but you’ve already exceeded well beyond your years in that department.”

Harry nodded, “Right. Hermione probably still has her books, so I will begin studying when I get back to the Weasley’s.”

“Speaking of the Weasley’s, is Ron also interested in becoming an Auror?”

“Yes, sir. Very much so,” said Harry.

“I understand he is out of the country, correct? Make sure he comes in to see me when he returns, ok?”

Harry nodded, “Will do, sir.”

“Is there anyone else who you think might also be a good fit? Maybe Mr. Longbottom?” asked Kingsley.

Harry nodded, “Nevill will definitely be a great asset. He did say something about going back to school next term though.”

“Well, I’ll send him an owl and we’ll see what he decides,” said Kingsley, jotting down a note on his desk.

Harry and Kingsley talked for a few more moments before Kingsley received a memo that reminded him of a meeting he must attend. They bade each other goodbye and Harry made his way back to the Burrow.

As he stepped out of the fireplace, he saw Ginny sitting nearby, waiting for him. When she saw him emerge, she walked over to him “So?” She asked, “How did it go?”

Harry smiled and wrapped his arms around Ginny’s waist, picking her up and spinning her in a circle. She laughed as he twirled her, and when he set her down again, she was dizzy with delight, “Does that mean it went well?”

Harry smiled and grabbed her face, kissing her hard, “Very well. Let me just change out of these clothes and I’ll tell you about it.”

* * *

 

> _Ron,_  
>  _Had my meeting with Kingsley today. It went great! He wants us to help “revolutionize the Ministry” and become aurors to help catch those who corrupted it in the first place. I already accepted the job and I start training next week. And he wants you to go in and talk to him when you get back.  
>  Oh, and heads up, there will be aptitude tests to see where we are at skill-wise, so we need to brush up on stuff. Tell Hermione I am borrowing some of her books.  
>  Speaking of Hermione, how’s the search for her parents?_  
>  _Tell her I say ‘hello’._  
>  _See you soon,_  
>  _Harry_

“Here are the books you asked for,” said Ginny, dropping a pile of books in front of Harry, who was sitting at a little table in Ron’s room. “Hermione had them all piled in a stack next to her bed. Thankfully she didn’t take them with her to Australia, though I can’t seem to find ‘Hogwarts, A History’.”

“She probably took that one with her. She always has that book on hand,” he said, folding up his note and stuffing it into an envelope. He called for Pig, Ron’s owl, and the little bird fluttered around the room excitedly.

“Come here you, crazy little owl,” said Harry laughing, trying to jump up and catch him.

Ginny laughed at the sight, “Come here, Pig,” she said, holding out her arm. The little owl landed gently on her arm, hooting softly and she rubbed his head.

“Thanks, Gin. Little bugger never sits still for me or Ron,” said Harry, tying the letter to Pig’s little leg.

Ginny shrugged, “He listens to me just fine,” she said, stroking his wing.

“Ok Pig, take this letter to Ron ok? He’s in Australia somewhere,” Harry gave him an owl treat, which the little owl took with enthusiasm, nipping Harry’s finger in the process, then flew out the window.

Harry watched the little owl fly away, wondering how long it would take him to get to Australia, when Ginny walked up next to him and said, “Um, Harry? You’re dripping some blood on the floor.”

“Huh?” said Harry, looking at the floor, then his hand. The little nip that Pig had given him had broken flesh and droplets of blood were running from his finger.

“Oh I didn’t even notice,” he said, grabbing and old t-shirt to wipe the blood from his finger. Ginny came over and took his hand, “Here, let me help,” she took her wand and muttered a spell under her breath; the wound closed up and stopped bleeding instantly.

“Thanks, Ginny.”

“No problem. With as many kids around here that there is, I’ve heard Mum utter this spell countless of times. Works well for minor scrapes and cuts.”

Harry went over to the blood on the floor, kneeling down to clean it up with his wand, when he recalled a particular bloody scene at Hogwarts during the battle; broken and dead bodies all over the place; yelling and screaming coming from all directions.

“Harry? Harry!” he heard Ginny yell, which snapped him back to reality. “Harry? Are you ok? You went pale and slumped over.”

Harry nodded, “I’m fine. For some reason seeing the blood on the floor…” he trailed off. “I’m OK. I swear.” To prove to Ginny, and to himself, he got up from the floor and pointed his wand at the mess, “ _Scourgify_ ,” he said. In an instant, the blood was gone.

Ginny looked at him skeptically, “If you say so,” she went over to the little desk, took out a piece of chocolate she knew was hidden in there, and handed it to him, “just in case though, here, eat some of this.”

“Gin, I don’t need chocolate..” he began.

“Just humor me Potter, ok?” she said, almost pleadingly.

Harry sighed, taking a bite of chocolate. Even though he convinced himself that he felt fine before, he did start to feel a tiny bit better after taking a bite.

“Happy?” he asked, trying to break the tension with a smile.

“A little. I’d be happier if you’d tell me the truth whenever you’re having an issue with something though.”

“Gin, I told you, I’m fine---”

“You don’t always have to be ‘fine’ you know. You’re allowed to have problems and you’re allowed to talk about them. Especially with me, ok?” She walked closer to him, wrapping her arms around his waist, and resting her head on his shoulder. “You went through so much, Harry. I worry about you. You may not like that someone worries about you, but I do. So if you ever need to talk, whether it’s today, tomorrow, next week, next year… or a few years from now. I’ll be there. Always. Ok?”

Not knowing what to say, Harry wrapped his arms around her and they stood by the window together, just holding each other, until her mother’s voice was calling out for them. They broke apart, smiled warmly at each other, and followed the sounds of Mrs. Weasley to the kitchen for dinner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Please like and comment :)


	8. Chapter 8

Ginny woke up from the dead of sleep and sat up in her bed. She could have sworn she heard her name being called; shouted more like it. _Maybe it was just a dream_ , she thought.

She laid her head back onto her pillow when she heard it again, “Ginny… GINNY! NO!”

“Harry…” she said to herself, jumping out of bed and out the door of her bedroom. She ran up the steps, two at a time, until she reached Harry’s room; her parents had gotten there just before her.

Harry was in bed, thrashing around. Mr. Weasley was trying to calm him, but all he kept doing was calling out for Ginny. His eyes were open, but he didn’t seem to be fully awake.

“Ginny! Ginny! Where’s Ginny! He got her, I saw him. Ginny!” he yelled.

“Harry,” said Ginny, walking into the room, “Harry, wake up. I’m right here.” She sat on the edge of his bed and grabbed his hand. The moment her hand touched his, he made eye contact with her and finally settled. He leaned back against the headboard, closing his eyes, and let out a sigh.

“Harry?” she asked. She turned to her parents, “I think he fell back asleep.”

“Not asleep…” he mumbled.

She turned back to him, squeezed his hand. “Harry? What happened? Are you ok? Did you have a nightmare or something?”

He opened his eyes slowly, looking at her, “More like a night terror.” He shifted so that he sat up, “I’m fine now, really. It was just a nightmare. I’m ok. You all can go back to bed. I’ll be ok.”

Ginny looked at Harry for a few seconds, then turned to her parents. “You guys can go on back to bed. But I’m not leaving Harry tonight.”

“Ginny…” started Mrs. Weasley.

Ginny got up and walked over to mother, “Mum, I promise. Nothing will happen. We’ll leave the door open if you want. But I’m not leaving him tonight.” She leaned in close so that only her parents could hear, “Something isn’t right and I think he needs me right now.”

Mrs. Weasley looked Ginny in the eyes, then nodded. “Alright dear. Alright. Come on Arthur, let's go back to bed.”

Before Mr. Weasley could say anything, Mrs. Weasley had taken him by the arm and left the room, closing the door behind her.

“Ginny…. you don’t have to stay, I’m fine, really…” started Harry.

Ginny turned around to face him. “Stop saying that word. You are not _fine_!”

Harry started to argue, but stopped. He leaned back against the headboard once more, looking up at the ceiling. “You’re right. I’m not fine.”

Ginny walked over to his bed and motioned for him to scoot over. Once he did, she sat next to him and leaned against the headboard as well, also looking up at the ceiling. “What’s going on Harry?” she said after a while.

He said nothing at first. She reached for his hand and intertwined her fingers with his. After a few moments, he finally spoke, “I’ve been having dreams. It started with flashbacks mostly. I dream of the battle that happened at Hogwarts. I see the people who sacrificed themselves being killed over and over again. Then it started changing… now I dream about people who survived… but they’re being killed now too. I see Voldemort, rising up from where he fell, and start killing everyone.” He closed his eyes, “It hasn’t been this bad before; tonight’s the first time it’s gotten like this.”

“Why haven’t you mentioned any of this before?” Ginny asked.

Harry shrugged. “I thought it was normal… I know that I’ve been through a lot and that there was was bound to be some sort repercussions from it all. I figured some bad dreams every couple of nights was something I could handle. But it’s become almost nightly now…”

“Do you want to talk about what happened in tonight’s dream?”

“In tonight’s dream,” Harry hesitated for a second before continuing, “Bellatrix survived your mum’s curse. She retaliated by killing her then she turned to you… she didn’t kill you though, that would have been too nice of her….  but she kept you for Voldemort…and he was torturing you. Because he knew. Even though I broke up with you, to keep you away, so that he wouldn’t use you as a pawn. But he knew all along…”

“He knew what, Harry?” she asked, looking at him.

He looked back at her, “He knew I loved you… and that breaking up with you would never have changed that fact.” He shifted so that his whole body was facing her, and he looked into her eyes, “I love you, Ginny. This wasn’t how I wanted to tell you. I wanted it to be someplace special, but the fact of the matter is, I love you. I always have… I always will.”

She stared back into his eyes. Then, before she knew it, she was kissing him, with as much passion as she could give, and he returned the kiss with just the same. After a moment, they broke apart, breathless. She rested her forehead against his, catching her breath, and placed a hand on his cheek. “I love you too, Harry. Always have, always will.”

They shifted in his bed, so that they laid there together, he on his back and she with her head in the crook of his shoulder. They talked through the night. He told her of Horcruxes and the Hallows. She told him of trying to steal the Sword of Gryffindor from Snape’s office and detentions with the Carrow’s. They talked about quidditch and of Ginny’s upcoming classes. Finally, when the first rays of sun had started to shine through the window, they fell asleep.  

* * *

Over the next few days, Harry spent his mornings pouring over Hermione’s books to refresh his memory on subjects he hadn’t used in a while. After lunch, he and Ginny would go out to the yard and run quidditch plays and drills, so that she would be in top shape when the new season started back up at Hogwarts. Harry had forgotten how much he loved flying on a broom; it has been almost a year since he last done so. Unfortunately, his own Firebolt was lost when he last left the Dursley’s, so in the meantime, he was using Ron’s Cleansweep Eleven.

It still seemed odd to Harry how empty the Burrow felt. Meals with just Ginny and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, while still very welcoming, seemed a bit boring without the whole family there talking all at once. The up-side with the house being empty was that Harry had Ginny all to himself. They ate together, read together, took walks together. He almost wished the summer wouldn’t end so she wouldn’t have to leave. He knew though, that after she graduated, there would be a lifetime with her.

One day after lunch, Harry was sitting at the kitchen table with a blank piece of parchment and a quill in his hand. Ginny came into the room and noticed that he seemed to be conflicted on if he should write something or not.

“Whatcha got there, Harry?” she asked sitting across from him.

“I keep debating if I should write my aunt and uncle. I know they probably don’t care about what happened to me, but with everything going on at the Ministry right now, I wasn’t sure if anyone from there told them that they could come out of hiding. So I was thinking of writing a quick note to let them know that they could go home if they wanted.”

Ginny had gotten up and took out a few biscuits from the jar on the counter then she sat back down and offered one to Harry, “Not to be rude or anything, but why bother? From what everything Ron has told me about them, they can just stay in hiding.”

Harry bit into his biscuit, still debating. “True, but, Dudley, my cousin, seemed to have changed before I left. He seemed to be more accepting of me and even wished me luck before he left.”

“So why not just write to him? He might be accepting of a letter from you and then he can pass along the message to your aunt and uncle.”

“That’s actually not a bad idea. Thanks, Gin” he gave her a smile then started writing his letter to Dudley.

 

> _Dudley,_  
>  _Just wanted to let you know that I’m fine and not dead. The person who was after me is now gone and no longer a threat. I wasn’t sure if anyone from our Ministry contacted you and your parents about coming out of hiding. I am unsure where you are, so that is why I am sending this letter with an owl. If you give me an address, I can send any other letters through the post, if you wanted to keep in touch._  
>  _Best,_  
>  _Harry_

“Here, how does that sound?” he asked Ginny, handing her the letter.

She read it over and nodded. “Sounds good. But what owl are you going to use to send it? Pig isn’t back yet and Errol is basically in retirement.”

“Well, I figured I could wait until Pig returns, or send it when I go to the Ministry with one of their owls.”

“I wonder how Ron and Hermione are doing in Australia. I hope she found her parents,” said Ginny, sounding worried.

“Knowing how Hermione is, she probably found them the first day they were there,” said Harry reassuringly.

“I hope they’re not too mad at her…” began Ginny, but stopped when she heard the familiar hoot of a the tiny owl in the distance, “It’s Pig! He’s back!”

She ran to the window and opened it fully. When the little owl flew into the kitchen, he swooped around their heads in excitement before finally landing on the kitchen table. Ginny got a bowl of water and some owl treats while Harry untied the letter from him.

“Here you go little guy,” said Ginny. Pig hooted in appreciation before flying off to Ron’s room, where his cage awaited him.  

“What’s it say?” asked Ginny.

Harry read the letter aloud:

 

> _Harry,_  
>  _Hermione found her parents! She reversed the spell and told them everything. She even showed them some articles from the Quibbler and the Daily Prophet. They were angry at first but understood why she did it. They decided to take a few days as a family to do some sightseeing before heading back. We arrive back to London Saturday morning by airplane._  
>  _I’ll go with you on Monday to talk to Kingsley! Hopefully I can start training the same day as you._  
>  _Tell Mum, Dad, and Ginny we say hello._  
>  _Ron_

At the bottom of the letter was an additional scribble from Hermione:

 

> _Congratulations on the job, Harry! See you soon!_  
>  _Love,_  
>  _Hermione_

Ginny smiled as she read the letter herself, “I’m going to show Mum the letter, if that’s alright? She won’t ever admit it, but she was worried about them and I think this will help her relax a bit.” Harry handed her the letter and Ginny ran off to find her mother.

Harry pocketed the letter to Dudley and decided to have Pig deliver it tomorrow, so that this way the little bird could rest his wings for a while.

That evening Andromeda and Teddy came to visit the Burrow after dinner.

“Thanks for having us over, Molly. I never noticed how lonely it could be in the house with just me and the baby,” she said, as she unwrapped Teddy from the woven baby carrier. “I really hope I am not being a bother though. I just needed to spend time with people who could actually converse back to me and not just give me babbles and gummy smirks, no matter how cute it is.”

Mrs. Weasley smiled, “It’s no trouble at all, Andromeda. It’s always a pleasure to have you, and little Teddy as well.”

Ginny walked over to Andromeda, “Can I hold him?” she asked.

“Sure dear,” she said, handing the baby to Ginny. Ginny held Teddy in the crook of her arm, making silly faces at him. Teddy smiled back.

“Why don’t you take Teddy to the sitting room, Ginny? Give Andromeda here a little break,” suggested Mrs. Weasley.  

Ginny took Teddy the sitting room and sat on the couch. She held Teddy under his arms and bounced him gently on her legs, causing him to smile. Harry watched her from the doorway, “How is it that you’re so good with him?” he asked, walking over and sitting next to her.

“I have many cousins, all in various ages. So I’ve had plenty of experience with little babies. Just wait till he starts crawling and walking, he’ll be so much fun.”

Teddy looked over at Harry and made eye contact then smile even wider. Ginny laughed, “I think he knows your someone special in his life. Look at that smile.”

Harry smiled back, then put out his hands and Ginny gave Teddy to Harry. Harry mimicked what she did and bounced him lightly on his legs. Teddy squealed and his hair turned turquoise. Harry laughed, “Now that’s a cool color on you, Teddy. I think you should stick with that one. Betcha it will attract all the ladies,” he said jokingly, causing Ginny to laugh.

Harry held out Teddy to Ginny, “Here Gin, you take him for a moment, I need to talk to Andromeda for a second.”

Harry found Andromeda talking to Mrs. Weasley in the kitchen, drinking some tea. “Mrs. Tonks? Sorry to interrupt, I just needed to ask you something.”

She turned around to look at Harry, “Oh please call me Andromeda dear. Is everything ok? Teddy need a diaper change or bottle?”  
He shook his head, “No, everything's fine. I just wanted to ask you how you felt about letting me watch Teddy once a week, to give you a break or something? Maybe we can work something out and you can bring him here, or I can go to your place?”

“Oh, Harry. That is incredibly sweet. Are you sure though?”

Harry nodded, “Ya. I think the first few times you can bring him here and this way Mrs. Weasley and Ginny can show me the ropes, and then eventually I can watch him at your place or something.”

Andromeda took a moment to think about it then smiled warmly at him, “I think that’s a wonderful idea, Harry. Thank you.”

“It’s no problem. I want to be part of his life… I made a promise to Lupin at the memorial that I’d be there for Teddy, since… since, he can’t be.”

“Oh, Harry, that’s so sweet,” said Mrs. Weasley, getting teary eyed.

Andromeda walked over and gave Harry a hug. “He’s very lucky to have you as a godfather.”

Harry was about to say something, when Ginny walked in with a fussy baby in her arms, “I think someone has a stinky nappie,” she said, scrunching up her nose.

Andromeda laughed, taking Teddy from her, “I’ll take care of it, Ginny, thank you.”

When Andromeda went into another room to change Teddy’s diaper, Ginny turned to Harry. “I couldn’t help but overhear. I think it’s very sweet of you to want to watch Teddy for her,” she stood on her toes and kissed his cheek.

“You’ll help me right? At least at first?” he asked nervously.

“Of course! I’m sure Mum will help too,” Ginny said, nodding towards her mom.

Mrs. Weasley nodded, “Absolutely, Harry. I’m sure in no time you’ll get the hang of it.”

Andromeda and Teddy stayed a little bit longer, until Teddy started getting fussy again. “I think someone is ready for bed,” said Andromeda. She wrapped up Teddy in the fabric around her body and he started to doze off. “We best be getting back home. Harry, I’ll talk to you soon and we’ll make plans to have you watch Teddy, alright?”

Harry nodded then he, Mrs. Weasley, and Ginny said their goodbye’s as Andromeda left by Floo.

Mr. Weasley come in from the kitchen, covered in dirt and grease, “Did someone just leave? One of the boys?” he asked.

Mrs. Weasley shook her head, “No, it was Andromeda and Teddy, they came over to visit for a little bit….Arthur, why are you covered in filth? Have you been working in your garage this whole time?” she asked with a sigh.

“Yes, I’m working on a project of sorts…”

“It better not be another flying car Arthur Weasley,” she said sternly with hands on her hips.

“No no, not a flying car. Just….. well, I’ll tell you about it later. I’m going to clean up and head to bed.” Without touching anything, he gave his wife a kiss on the cheek, then said goodnight to Harry and Ginny.

“I’m going to tuck in as well, Goodnight you two,” said Mrs. Weasley.

“Wonder what he’s working on?” wondered Harry aloud and Mrs. Weasley left the kitchen.

Ginny shrugged. “Who knows with dad. He’s always tinkering with stuff in there,” then she added with a whisper,  “Keeps him busy and out of Mum’s hair.”

Harry laughed and swung an arm around Ginny, walking with her into the sitting room. “Fancy a game of chess? I’m not quite ready to head onto bed just yet.”

Ginny nodded, “Sure, I’ll get the set.”

They ended up playing two games. Harry was setting up the board for a third game when Ginny yawned hugely. “I think I’m going to head to bed, Harry. I can barely keep my eyes open.”

“Oh.. ok”

“Everything alright?”

Harry shrugged, “I’m fi--” he stopped himself as Ginny narrowed her eyes at him. He sighed, “I’m just having trouble sleeping is all.”

“You still having nightmares?”

Harry nodded, “Most nights, yes. Not as bad as the other night, but still having them.”

“So… you think playing games all night and avoiding sleep will help?” she asked, a smile on her face.

Harry shook his head, smiling back at her, “No…I guess I’m just stalling.”

Ginny shook her head and sighed, “I’ll be right back.”

She left the room and came back shortly with a few pillows and blankets. She tossed a pillow at Harry and the other on the couch to his. She then proceeded to move the couch so that his and hers faced each other and were only a few inches apart..  Harry looked at her quizzically, “What are you doing?”

“We’re going to sleep here tonight. Mum and dad let me sleep in your room the other night but I doubt they’ll let that be a nightly occurrence.”

Harry started to argue but thought better of it. He knew Ginny wouldn’t do anything else, and if he was honest with himself, he was glad for the company.

They settled into their separate couches, talking in the dark, until Harry drifted off to sleep. Ginny smiled at him sleeping, then reached over and placed a hand on him. That night, Harry slept without waking once from nightmares.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!


	9. Chapter 9

Saturday came in a blink of an eye and Ron apparated near the Burrow right at lunch time. He sat down and ate his lunch with so much gusto that Ginny just shook her head in awe, “Nothing changes, does it?”  
“Honestly, I don’t know how muggles do it.... Traveling by airplane. Bloody hell, it takes forever!” He ate as he talked, much to his mother’s dismay. “Did you know that it takes 24 hours to fly from Australia to here? Twenty-Four. Stuck in a small, metal flying… thing! With only peanuts and pretzels to snack on!” He drank the entire contents of his goblet of pumpkin juice, “I’ll stick to using a portkey for long distance travel from now on.”

“How’s Hermione though? And her parents?” asked Harry.

“They’re all good. Like I said in the letter, they were a bit upset at first but they understood in the end. Hermione is planning on staying with her parents the rest of the summer and will meet us back here before the next school term starts. If something comes up, she said she can alway apparate here.”

“How was Australia?” asked Ginny.

“Cold… it’s opposite from here so while we have summer, they have winter. It’s nutters,” he shook his head, taking a bite of a biscuit. “We did manage to see some kangaroos and koalas though. That was pretty neat. Hermione’s parents have pictures on their muggle camera.”

“Can’t wait to see!” said Ginny excitedly. She grabbed a biscuit for herself and ate it whole, “So anyways, Harry and I usually practice quidditch drills after lunch, do you want to join?”  
Ron yawned hugely, “I think I’ll pass and go lay down for a bit. It’s impossible to get comfortable enough to sleep on those airplanes.”

Ginny shrugged and ruffled his hair as she passed then she and Harry went outside.

* * *

On Monday, Harry and Ron went to the Ministry to meet with Kingsley. As they walked through the lobby towards the elevators, Ron stop short, “Is that who I think it is?” he asked Harry, indicating to someone walking ahead of them. It was Draco Malfoy.

Harry shrugged, “Look’s like it,” he said, “Come on, Kingsley is waiting for us.”

As they continued to walk, Draco turned around and spotted Harry and Ron. When they got closer to him, Harry had every intention of just walking past, but Ron walked up to him and said “What are _you_ doing here, Malfoy?”

Draco looked at Ron, a sneer almost forming on his face, but he stopped himself. He sighed and said, “It’s really none of your business, Weasley. But if you must know, I’m here for my mother who is going on trial today. Now if you will excuse me, I need to get down to the courtrooms.”

Harry watched Draco turn and walk away before saying, “Hey Malfoy…. good luck to your family.”

Ron’s mouth dropped open, not believing what the just heard.

Draco stopped and turned around, “What do you care, Potter? How could you possibly care what happens to me and my family after everything that has happened?”

Harry walked over to Draco, “Your mum saved my life. And in a way, you did too. I won’t ever forget that. So I say it with sincerity that I hope things go well.”

Draco looked at him skeptically, “Alright…” he turned to walk away.

Before Harry could stop himself, he asked, “Does your mother need someone to testify for her?”

Again, Draco turned around, this time narrowing his eyes at Harry, “What are you playing at, Potter? If this is some elaborate plan to get me and my family thrown in Azkaban---”

“No, it’s not. What your mum did basically save all of us. The Ministry ought to know,” he turned to Ron, who was still staring at him with his mouth open, “You go see Kingsley, I’ll go down to the courtrooms with Malfoy.”

Ron shook his head, “No way. I’m coming with you.”

“Ron, you don’t have--” began Harry.

“I’m leaving,” interrupted Draco, “If you want to testify I won’t stop you, but I won’t stand here and wait for you two to decide who’s going and who’s not.”

“I’ll be there in a moment,” he called after Draco. He then looked to Ron, “Let’s go to Kingsley’s office then I’ll head down to the courtrooms.”

“ _We’ll_ head down there,” corrected Ron, following after Harry who started walking in a faster pace. “I can’t believe you’re going to the help the Malfoy’s” he muttered.

“Well, I am. So get over it. I’ve told you what happened.”

“Yes, but--”

“Harry. Ron. I was wondering where you two were,” said Kingsley, who had just walked out of his office.

“Sorry, Minister. We ran into Draco Malfoy and I offered to go down and testify for his mother who is on trial today,” explained Harry.

Kingsley raised his eyebrows, “Oh?”  
  
“He’s nutters, right?” asked Ron, hoping for someone to agree with him,

“Actually, it’s quite admirable,” said Kingsley, placing a hand on Harry’s shoulder. “I’m proud of you; putting away your issues with Draco. Helping his family is the type of person this ministry needs around here.” He gave Harry a smile, “Go do what you need to do, but come back when you’re done, alright?”

“Will do, thanks,” he said, turning around and almost running down the hall.

Kingsley looked over at Ron, “Go on, I know you want to go too.”  
  
Ron gave him a grin, “Thanks, Sir,” and he sprinted down the hall to catch up the Harry.

Down in the courtrooms, Harry waited outside the doors where Mrs. Malfoy was on trial. After a few moments, one of the Ministry officials called Harry into the room.

He walked into a square room that had seating on all sides. The room could easily fit about 200 people but only about half of that was there. Mrs. Malfoy sat along one side of the room, her head held up high. Draco was sitting next to her, looking around and sneaking glances at his mother to make she was ok. He made eye contact with Harry and nodded his head curtly; Harry returned the gesture.

“Up next,” said the judge, a short, balding man, reading off a parchment, “Witness for the defence is Harry James Potter.” Quiet murmurs started around the room. The judge, paying no attention, looked over his parchment to Harry and motioned for him to come forward and sit in the empty chair in the middle of the room. “Mr. Potter, would you care to tell us why you think Mrs. Malfoy here should be expunged of all charges?”  
“Yes, Sir,” said Harry, “In the early morning of the second of May, Voldemort thought he had killed me with the killing curse, and--”

“Are you saying,” asked the judge, “That Voldemort used a killing curse on you, again… and you survived…. again?”

“Yes sir.”

More murmurs stirred around the room.

“Quiet please,” said the judge to the people in the room, then he looked at Harry, “Please continue, Mr. Potter.”

“Thank you sir. As I was saying, Voldemort thought I was dead, but he wanted to be sure. That’s where Mrs. Malfoy comes in. He had her check to see if I was alive or not. Upon inspecting me, she realized I was alive. She hid the fact though and instead of telling the truth, she told Voldemort I was dead.”  
“And why do you think she did that, Mr. Potter?”

“Well, before she announced I was dead, she asked me if her son, Draco, was still alive and I nodded to indicate that he was. I think she just wanted to get to her son and get out of there. But in doing so, letting Voldemort think I was dead, gave me the advantage I needed to plan my next course of action which ultimately led to his downfall. If she had told him I was alive, he would have killed me for sure and Voldemort would have taken over the Wizarding world.”

This time, the wizards and witches in the courtroom talked amongst themselves without bothering to use hushed voices. Harry looked over at Mrs. Malfoy, who gave him a small smile.

The judge banged his gavel, “Order, please.” Once the room quieted down, he cleared his throat. “Given this new piece of information, I have no question about the verdict of Mrs. Narcissa Malfoy.” Draco reached over and held his mother’s hand. “Narcissa Malfoy, you are expunged of all charges. You are free to go.”

The breath Mrs. Malfoy was holding expelled and she hugged her son.

The courtroom burst with activity. The judge once again banged his gavel. “I have one more question for Mr. Potter… is there anything else you wish to disclose about any other members of the Malfoy family?”

Harry looked at Draco, then back at the judge, “Yes, sir. It involves Draco Malfoy. He also had an opportunity to turn me in. Snatchers had captured me and took me to his manor and when they asked him if I was who I am, he said no. I had a hex done to my face so it was hard to tell it was me, but I knew that he knew who I really was.”

“Thank you, Mr. Potter. You are dismissed,” said the judge, as he wrote down notes on another piece of parchment.

Harry left the room and met with Ron who was waiting outside. He was in the process of telling him what happened when Draco opened the doors and looked around. Upon spotting Harry, he walked over to him. “Potter. I just wanted to say… thanks,” he held out his hand for the first time since they met when they were eleven; this time Harry took it and shook.

“This doesn’t mean we’re friends or anything,” Draco said, releasing his grip from Harry’s hand.

Harry nodded, “I know.”

“Well… see you around, Potter. Weasley,” Draco turned and met with his mother, who had just exited the courtroom. She looked over at Harry, mouthed “thank you” to him, then she and Draco walked down the hall to the elevators and left.

* * *

**  
  
**

Harry and Ron spent the rest of the day at the aurors office, meeting with the remaining members, and going over things they would need to brush up on for their aptitude test. Once they got back to the Burrow, they devoured their dinner then sat in the sitting room and went over notes and books to study some more. For the first time in a long time, the moment Harry’s head hit his pillow he was sound asleep.

When he opened his eyes, he was back at the Forbidden Forest, laying on the leaf strewn ground. He heard the familiar snake-like voice of Voldemort, commanding someone to check and see if Harry was still alive. He laid very still, trying not to move a muscle but knew it would be useless in the end. An outline of a woman loomed over him and some part of his brain was telling him it would Narcissa and it would be ok. But it wasn’t Narcissa this time; it was Bellatrix. She leaned over him and noticed the pulse in his neck.

“He’s… alive!? YES! He is still alive My Lord!” she exclaimed.

“Bring him to me,” commanded Voldemort.

Bellatrix used her wand to bind Harry with an invisible rope then levitate him over to Voldemort. “So, Harry Potter. It seems the Killing Curse is still useless against you. Let’s see.. why don’t we try something else?” He snarled an evil grin and waved his wand. Deep cuts appeared on his arms and legs. Harry fought back his screams; his eyes watering with pain. “Still nothing, Mr. Potter? Well, let’s see how you deal with this.” Another wave of his wand and Ron, Hermione, and Ginny appeared, tied and gagged. They each had a look of shock and fear in their eyes.

“Leave them alone!” yelled Harry.

“Temper temper,” cooed Bellatrix, running a finger down the side of his face; Harry tried to move away from her touch but it was useless.  She turned to Voldemort, “Please, My Lord, let me? I promise it will be painful and torturous.”

Voldemort stared at her for a second, then motioned for her to proceed.

“No!” said Harry, as Bellatrix lifted her wand.

“ _Sectumsempra_!” she bellowed, slashing her wand in front of his three friends.

Crimson red blood started to spread over their clothes, down their arms, and legs. If they could scream, they would. She cackled with glee, “I’m so glad ol’ Severus showed us this little gem!”

He sobbed, begging her stop as she slashed at them again, each of his friends getting unsteady on their feat. He watched Ginny, as if in slow motion, fall to the ground first, dead.

“NOOOOO!” he screamed.

Harry sat up in bed. He was panting and covered in sweat. He looked across the room and saw that Ron had also sat up and was staring at him, looking pale.

“Bloody hell, Harry! What’s wrong?” he asked.

“Just a bad dream. It’s fine. Go back to bed,” Harry said, as reached for  his glasses and got out of bed.

“Where are you going?” Ron asked.

“Downstairs for a bit. Need something to drink.”

“Do you want company?”

“No, it’s alright. I’m fine. Go back to sleep,” he said, as he left the room and closed the door.

As he walked down the stairs to the kitchen, he passed Ginny’s room. As he did so, her door creaked opened. “Harry?” she whispered.

“It’s me,” he said, stopping and waiting for her to catch up.

“Everything ok?” she asked.

“Bad dream again. I was just going downstairs for something to drink,” he said as he continued to walk down the stairs; Ginny grabbed his hand, knowing he needed the comfort, and walked with him.

“Do you want to tell me about it?” she asked.

Harry nodded.

They made their way into the kitchen and Harry grabbed a glass from the cupboard. Ginny took it from his hand, “I got this,” she said, kissing his cheek, “Why do you sit down and I’ll fix you up something that Mum always made us if we had trouble sleeping.”

As Harry sat at the table, she replaced the glass with a mug and filled it with milk. She waved her wand over the mug and it started to steam. She then sprinkled some chocolate into it. She handed it to him and he took a sip, “It’s excellent. Thanks Gin,” he said, giving her a smile.

They sat the table while he told her about his dream. When he got to the end she reached over and placed her hand on his. “Harry… I think you need to see someone about these dreams of yours.”

“I’m not sure what anyone can do, honestly,” he said, sounding exhausted.

“Well, they can probably give you something to help you get a full night’s sleep at least, maybe some Potion for Dreamless Sleep or something?”

Harry shrugged, “I guess it’s worth looking into,” he looked up at her and smiled, “Thanks for being here, Ginny.”

She squeezed his hand, “Come on, let’s get you back to bed.”

“I think I might sleep on the couch, just in case. I don’t want to keep waking up Ron,” he said.

“Why don’t you sleep in one of the other rooms? I mean, Bill, Charlie, Percy, and George’s rooms are all free for the taking while they’re not here.”

Harry shrugged, “I guess it’s just habit. Every time I come here I stay in his room. But you’re right. I’ll ask your mum which room I should take tomorrow. But for tonight, I think I’ll sleep on the couch.”

“Fair enough,” she said.

They went into the sitting room and Harry dug out the pillows and blankets that they started storing in the corner of the room. Harry placed his glasses on the small table next to him and laid on the couch, staring at the ceiling.

“Do you want me to stay with you?” Ginny asked.

Without saying anything, Harry shifted so that he was laying on his side, making room for her on the same couch. She laid on her side next to him and he put his arm around her and inhaled the flowery scent of her hair.

“Gin?” he asked sleepily.

“Ya Harry?”

“Never change your shampoo.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!


	10. Chapter 10

“I think you got the hang of it, Harry,” said Rhys Flemming, an auror who was working with Harry on administering the Disillusionment Charm. Benjamin Scott, who was the person that Harry was performing the charm on, agreed. “It definitely felt like an egg going down my back this time, instead of water.” Ben used his wand to reverse the spell so that he was visible again.

“Alright, let me try it one more time…” began Harry, as he got ready to administer the charm on Ben again. Ben stopped him and smiled. “You got it Harry, trust me. You’re a fast learner. You’ll do fine on your testing.”

Harry put his wand down, “Ok, so what’s next?”

“Lunch,” said Ron, walking into the room. He was carrying a few bags of sandwiches from the local deli down the street. “And you won’t believe who I found wandering around outside our offices.” He grinned and turned his head towards the door, where Neville Longbottom had just entered.

“Neville!” exclaimed Harry, walking over to him and clasping him on the back, “What are you doing here?”

“Kingsley sent me an owl and offered me an auror position. So, here I am,” he said with a grin.

“I thought you were going back to Hogwarts because your Gran wanted you to finish your education?” Ron said, as he sat down and started eating his sandwich.

“I _was_ planning on going back to Hogwarts, but after talking it over with Gran, she said she trusts my judgement in what I should do. So I made a deal with her that I’d do this instead of going back, but I’d also study up and take my N.E.W.T.S. as well.”

“Excellent!” said Harry, “When do you start?”

“I just left Kingsley’s office and he told me I could start today if I wanted.”

“That’s great!” said Harry, finally sitting down to eat his lunch, “We’ve been working with Rhys and Ben on the Disillusionment Charm,” he said, indicating to the two men sitting at their desks, going over some paperwork while they ate. Rhys had long, brown hair that was always put in a ponytail, and Ben had short, sandy blond hair; both of whom were in their early thirties. “Kingsley has Ron and I being trained by them. They’re partners out in the field but in between missions, their goal is to get us ready to for our assessment test, which is coming up next month. Once we pass that, we can shadow them out in the field until we’re ready to be on our own.”

“Speaking of doing things on your own,” said Rhys from his desk, “I think the next thing you should do is teach… Neville, is it? Teach Neville the Disillusionment charm.”

“Sounds great, it’ll be like old times in the D.A.” said Neville.

“‘D.A.’?” asked Ben.

Neville turned to Rhys and Ben, “During our fifth year at Hogwarts, we had a horrible Defence Against the Dark Arts Teacher--”

“Umbridge,” they said in unison.

“That would be the one. She wouldn’t allow us to use any type of magic, just read about how to defend ourselves, and only basic things at that. So Harry formed a club that we called Dumbledore’s Army, or D.A. for short, and he taught anyone who wanted learn. He even taught most of us how to produce a Patronus.”

“We knew he could produce a Patronus, but not about the other stuff. That’s some pretty intense stuff there, Potter. I think you’ll be doing your own missions soon enough,” said Ben. “Now, if you are all done eating, we should get back to work. We still have a lot to cover if we’re going to get you guys ready for some real work.”

The next few weeks dealt with intense training for Harry, Ron, and Neville. Since Neville had started a month after the other two, his assessment test was to be put off, but he still worked just as hard. Harry exceeded well in all Defence magic while Neville exceeded in anything to do with Herbology. Ron was finally finding his own talent with Charms now that he wasn’t in school and felt they had a use for them in the real world. Ben and Rhys were confident that they would all do well in their assessments in the following weeks to come.

* * *

One evening at The Burrow, Harry and Ron were playing Wizard's Chess in the sitting room, while Ginny was reading the latest Quidditch magazine, her feet propped on Harry’s legs. After concentrating on the board for a few minutes Harry grinned, then moved his piece. “Check mate,” he said.

Ron swore loudly which was followed by Mrs. Weasley yelling at him from another room of the house.  

“Sorry Mum!” called Ron, “Ugh, can’t believe you beat me… again! I’m losing my touch. I think all this studying and practicing is making my brain go all wonky.” He got up to go to the kitchen as Harry set up the board again.

“Would you like to play, Gin?” Harry asked her.

“And miss an opportunity to watch you beat Ron again? No thanks.” She flashed him a grin from over the magazine.

Ron returned from the kitchen, a sandwich in one hand and a letter in the other, “This just arrived. It’s addressed to you, Harry.”

Harry took the letter that Ron offered him and read it.

“It’s from Andromeda. She wants to know if I’m free to watch Teddy on Friday night.”

“ _This_ Friday night? As in, tomorrow?” asked Ron, “But isn’t that…” he stopped short when he got a kick under the table from his sister.

“Yes, this Friday. I don’t have any plans, so I’ll write her back and tell her that that works for me.” He looked over at Ginny, “She wants me to watch him at her place this time. She said you can come along too.”

Ginny smiled, “Yes, I’ll come along and help you,” she kissed his cheek. “Maybe we could put the little tyke to bed early and…”

“And _what??_ ” demanded Ron.

“None of your business,” she said hotly.

“She’s only trying to get under your skin, Ron,” said Harry, smiling and shaking his head at the two of them as he wrote back to Andromeda. “I’m going to go find Pig,” he said, getting up and heading upstairs to Ron’s bedroom.

“I thought Harry’s birthday was tomorrow?” Ron asked Ginny once Harry was out of earshot.

“It is. What Harry doesn’t know is that he isn’t going to be watching Teddy at all, but there’s going to be a surprise party for him at her place. This way, he won’t suspect anything.” She reached over and took the sandwich from his hand and took a bite.

“How come I wasn’t told any of this?” he asked, snatching his sandwich back from her.

“Because you’d probably ruin the surprise, so don’t say anything tomorrow, got it?” she said, giving him one of the same looks his mother gives him.

He made a zipper motion on his lips meaning he’d keep his mouth shut on the subject, which made Ginny laugh. “Good. Just make sure he doesn’t get there before 5 o’clock tomorrow ok?”

“Got it,” he said.

The next morning, as the rest of the house slept, Ginny crept from her room to Harry’s, who was now staying in Bill’s old room. She opened the door quietly and saw that he was still fast asleep. Smiling to herself, she tiptoed to the side of the bed, a wrapped package in her hand. She knelt beside the bed and kissed Harry on the forehead while whispering his name. He stirred slightly but still stayed asleep. Rolling her eyes, she kissed his lips softly until he his own started to respond. She broke apart and smiled. “Good morning, Love,” she said softly, “Happy Birthday.”

He smiled back, “Morning,” then he looked at her quizzically, sitting up and putting his glasses on, “Is it really my birthday?”

“Mm hm,” she said, sitting on the edge of his bed, facing him. “I wanted to be the first to wish you happy birthday and to give you your present.”

He grinned at her, “A present you say? You know you didn’t have to. With everything you’ve been doing for me, being with me and helping me when I have bad nights, it’s more than anything I could ever ask for.”

“I know, but, I saw this and just had to get it for you,” she said, handing him the package, “I hope you like gold and big chains with the words ‘My Sweetheart’….” she said teasingly.

Harry laughed, remembering the time when Lavender Brown gave Ron a similar gift.

He tore off the wrapping and opened the gift box. There were two things inside; a black crocheted scarf with hints of red and gold in it, and on top of that was a gold pocket watch with his initials, HJP, engraved on the front.

Harry took out the pocket watch first, lifting it by the chain. “I was eyeing this at the shop the last time we were at Diagon Alley.”

Ginny smiled at him, “I know. Open it up.”

He opened the front and inside was a hand-drawn picture of he and Ginny, though it seemed more like a photograph.

“Luna drew that,” she informed him.

“Wow. It’s really good,” he said, smiling. He looked at the face of the watch and noted that the Deathly Hallows symbol was behind the watches hands. Harry’s smile grew and he looked up at Ginny. “I love it,” he said, leaning forward and giving her a kiss then rested his forehead against hers, “I love you.”

“I love you too, Harry. There is more in the box though,” she said, pulling out the scarf. “It won’t really come in use now, but when it starts getting cold and you’re out there on those missions, I figured you could use something to keep you warm… and help you think of me,” she gave him a sly smile, handing him the scarf. Harry looked at her quizzically and took the scarf. He instantly knew what she meant; the scarf smelled of Ginny. “I made it myself and it has two charms on it,” she explained, “The first one is to keep the wearer warm and dry. The second is that I used the scent you love so much and infused it into the scarf. Do… do you like it?” she asked, nervously.

“It’s fantastic,” he said sincerely.

She smiled at him, relaxing and leaning back, “I’m glad you like them.”

Harry put the scarf back in the box and the pocketwatch on the nightstand next to him, making sure to use it that very day.

Harry received more gifts during breakfast that morning; a birthday cake from Hagrid, along with some various candies from Honeyduke’s; a box of random assortment of things from George, most of which Harry was too scared to use or try; Hermione had sent a card that said she’d give him his gift in person the next time she came to the Burrow; and Ron had given Harry a book about famous Auror's.

“Arthur and I have something for you as well, Harry dear, but it’s not quite here yet,” she said, a hint of a smile on her face. She piled homemade waffles on to his plate and he ate with a grin on his face, hoping that all his birthday’s were like this.

That evening, Harry was running late to Andromeda’s; Ben had given him some paperwork to work on which ended up having Harry stay behind while everyone else left. He told Ron to go home to the Burrow and to have Ginny go to Andromeda’s to watch Teddy until he got there, which would hopefully be soon. Finally, at around 5:30 that evening, Harry made his way to over to watch Teddy as promised. He apparated right outside the perimeter of her house, and made his way to the front door. He knocked, but when no one answered, he opened the door and noticed that the front room lights were off. “Ginny? Andromeda?” he called. He was about to reach for his wand, when the next thing he knew, all of the lights turned on.

“SURPRISE!!!!”

To Harry’s shock and pleasure, the room with filled with all of his friends, including Hermione who ran over and threw her arms around him, “Harry Birthday Harry!” she said, squeezing him.

“Hermione! It’s great to see you! And thanks!” he said, smiling at her.

Ginny made her way over and gave him a hug and kiss on the cheek, “Surprised?” she asked.

“Very much so. Was this your idea?” he asked, smiling at her.

Ginny nodded, “Mum and I planned it out,” she said, indicating to Mrs. Weasley who was standing off to the side, watching them. Harry walked over to her and embraced her in a hug then kissed her on the cheek. “Thank you Mrs. Weasley. Where’s Mr. Weasley at? I didn’t see him at work when I left.”

“Oh he had to go to the Burrow to pick something up,” she said dismissively, “He’ll be here shortly.”

Harry was about to ask her more questions, but was surrounded by more of his friends; Luna and her dad, who apologized profusely for what happened the last time he saw them; Dean and Seamus were there too, along with the Patil twins, Dennis Creevey, Hannah Abbot, Angelina Johnson, and Katie Bell; Rhys, Ben, and Neville where there, along with Kingsley; Hagrid, with tears streaming down his face, gave Harry a bone-crushing hug and started reminiscing about how small and tiny he was the first time he saw him; Bill and Fleur, Charlie, Percy, and George were there as well, plus many others.

Harry made his way around the room, saying hello and catching up with those he hadn’t seen in a long time. He found Andromeda, holding Teddy, who was talking to Mrs. Weasley.

“Thank you again for letting us throw this party at your place, Andromeda,” said Mrs. Weasley.

“Not a problem at all!” said Andromeda, “I figured he would be most surprised if we held it here instead of the Burrow.”

“That is very true,” said Harry, smiling, “though, I was looking forward to a nice, quiet evening with my main man, Ted. Come here big guy,” he said, as Teddy squealed and waved his arms as Andromeda handed Teddy to Harry.

The party ended up spilling outside, where music and games were being played and food was served. Shortly after, Harry heard a noise in the distance. “What’s that?” he asked.

Mrs. Weasley smiled wide. “It’s Arthur,” she said, indicating to something in the sky.

Harry looked up to where she was indicating and saw what she was pointing at; Mr. Weasley was indeed in the sky… riding a flying motorbike!

Harry’s mouth dropped open and then he smiled as Arthur landed the motorbike in the yard.

“Is that… Sirius’s old motorbike?” he asked, as Arthur dismounted, taking off a pair of aviator goggles and helmet.

“Yes, indeed. Though it’s not Sirius’s anymore..” he looked at Harry and smiled proudly, “It’s yours.”

“What?” Harry asked in disbelief.

“It was always meant to go to you, but then it got damaged last year. I’ve been working for months on fixing it up and fine tuning some new charms on it for you.”

“This is what you’ve been working on in the garage!” Harry exclaimed, still in shock.

Mr. Weasley smile and nodded, “Yes indeed. Let me show you what she can do.”

“Hold on,” said Mrs. Weasley. She handed Harry a box and inside was a brand new black helmet. “Now you must promise to always wear this while riding that thing,” she said, indicating to the motorbike.

Harry nodded and smiled at her, “Yes mum, I promise.”

Mrs. Weasley’s eyes glistened with tears as she hugged him tightly.

Everyone at the party was fascinated with Harry’s new motorbike; Ron, Neville, Dean, and Seamus all argued jokingly about who would get to ride on it first. Ginny walked over to Harry and whispered, “I get first ride, right?”

He smiled and winked at her. She laughed as he put an arm around her shoulder then they walked around the yard, talking and hanging out with other people who were there. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for such a long time between Chapters 9 and 10! I had family visiting for a few weeks then it took me a while to get back into writing. Hope you all enjoy the chapter! Please Kudo's and/or leave a review! Thanks :) 
> 
> 10/12/15 - Minor edits applied


	11. Chapter 11

Harry’s birthday party ended up going on longer then expected, so some of the party go-ers ended up heading over to the Burrow so that Andromeda could put Teddy to bed (and if she was honest with herself, she was heading straight to bed as well!).

Harry decided that this would be the perfect time to test out his new motorbike and ride it from Andromeda’s to the Burrow. He put on the helmet that Mrs. Weasley gave him and was about to start the engine, when Hermione ran up to him with her gift. He knew what it was before unwrapping it, and smiled as he read the title of the newest book she gave him: “Motorbike Safety for Dummies”.

“Thanks Hermione,” he said laughing and putting the book in one of the saddle bags.

“Do you even know how to ride that?” she asked, as he started the engine.

“Shouldn’t be too hard,” he said, as he revved the engine, grinning at her. “Don’t worry Hermione, I’ll be careful. I’ll drive it on the ground first, ok? When I get the hang of that, I’ll test out the flying setting. Sound good?”

Resigned, she nodded and stepped back as Ginny ran up to him, kissed his cheek, then flipped down his visor on the helmet before he rode the motorbike from the yard onto the road.

Harry felt liberated! The feeling of riding on a motorbike was almost the equivalent of riding a broom, except this was at ground level. He tested his own limits and sped up more and more until before he knew it, he was zipping along the road and almost reckless speeds. He had to remind himself that he was not on a broom and that he needed try and go the speed limit. The last thing he needed was to either get pulled over by a policeman or in an accident… Mrs. Weasley would probably burn the motorbike to the ground if _that_ happened on his first ride.

He made it back to the Burrow without a scratch and everyone crowded around him, with Mr. Weasley at the front,  asking how it handled. He reassured everyone, especially Mrs. Weasley, that all went well. When his friends started asking for rides on it, he told everyone, much to their disappointment, that he wanted to hold off for now until he had time to get to used to the motorbike himself.

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley headed to bed as Harry and his friends hung out outside during the warm summer night, drinking butterbeer, listening to music, dancing, and talking. It wasn’t until almost daybreak that everyone not staying at the Burrow started heading home. When the last guests left, Harry, Ron, Ginny, and Hermione (who was planning on staying until the start of school term), all went into the sitting room where they collapsed on the couches, exhausted. As Ginny laid a pillow on Harry’s lap to rest her head, then instantly started to drift off to sleep, Harry hoped once again that all birthday’s were just like this.

* * *

Harry and Ron’s assessment was the following week. Neville decided that he would test along with them, since they had become a great team working together and he felt as ready as he’ll ever be. He also ended up staying at the Burrow and the three of them, with the help from Hermione and Ginny, studied and practiced until they thought they could fit nothing more in their heads.

On the day of their assessments, they were each paired up with an Auror who would be with them throughout the entire testing period; Harry was assigned to Ben, Ron was assigned to Rhys, and Neville was assigned to another Auror named Holly Sutton; a women with long, black hair who had been an auror for almost 20 years.

After 8 grueling hours, with both magical testing and paper testing, the three headed back to the Burrow, feeling more exhausted than ever.

“How do you think you did?” Hermione asked once they were back and setting the table for dinner.

“I think OK?” Ron answered nervously, “I know I bombed the potions part.. and probably the disguises portion as well. I’ve resigned to come to the realization that maybe I’m not cut out to be an Auror… maybe I’ll help George at his joke shop…”

“Don’t be so hard on yourself Ron,” said Neville, patting him on his back, “I’m sure you did fine. Sure there areas that we probably all messed up on,” he looked over at Harry, who nodded in agreement, “but you have to remember that most training takes years and they  had to pack everything in in just a few months. I’m sure they are taking that into consideration.”

“Ya...Ya I guess you’re right,” said Ron, feeling more uplifted.

Ginny, who was putting goblets of water on the table, looked to Harry, “And you Harry? How do you think you did?”

Harry shrugged, “I think I did alright. Trying not to get my hopes up though. If we don’t pass this round I’m sure they’ll give us another opportunity.. at least I hope.”

Their worries were unwarranted though, as Kingsley had them come to his office first thing next morning to tell them the good news.

“You passed. All three of you,” he said, beaming at them.

A weight that Harry didn’t realize was there, lifted from his shoulders. He looked at Ron and Neville and knew that they felt the same way.

“There are still some areas that you all need to work on, but that will come with more and more practice,” continued Kingsley. “I’m proud of you boys though, or should I say, men. You are no longer boys who attend Hogwarts, but grown men who are well on their way to becoming full-fledged aurors.”

“So what happens now?” asked Harry.

“You’ll be assigned Aurors to shadow out in the field. Helping round up escaped Death Eaters for the most part. Soon, you’ll do missions on your own, but probably not for another few months.”

The three of them couldn’t wait to start.

* * *

A week later, Harry came downstairs to the Burrow’s kitchen to find Mrs. Weasley quickly wiping away tears from her face. “Oh, hello Harry dear, everything alright? Do you need anything?” she said, as she bustled around the kitchen trying to keep busy.

Harry shook his head, “No I’m fine, thanks… Mrs. Weasley, is everything alright?”

“Hm? Oh.. Yes, everything is fine. It’s just that…. well, this morning I went to get Errol to send a letter to Andromeda for me and I found him….” she sniffled and her voice cracked before continuing, “He must have passed during the night. Silly old thing… I knew his time was coming, I just wasn’t thinking it would be this soon.”

Harry walked over to her and gave her a hug, “I’m sorry, Mrs. Weasley. I know how much that ‘silly old thing’ meant to you.”

Mrs. Weasley laughed, wiping her eyes again, “Thank you Harry,” she patted his cheek, “Well, I’m going to head outside and do some gardening. You have a good day, alright dear?”

Harry nodded as she walked out, already thinking about how he’ll be heading to Diagon Alley as soon as he was able.

 

“Where’s Harry?” Ginny asked a little while later. “I can’t seem to find him anywhere.” She was outside with Ron and Hermione, who were both relaxing and reading on a blanket under a tree.

“I dunno. He said something about having to run some errands and that he’ll be back later,” said Ron, not looking up from his quidditch magazine.

“Oh,” said Ginny, curious about what errands he was doing. She shrugged it off, grabbed a magazine from the pile that Ron had discarded, and sat down and started reading along with them.  

Harry arrived shortly before dinner that evening. He walked through the kitchen door, carrying a covered birdcage in each hand.

Mrs. Weasley was at the stove, finishing up dinner when he came in. She looked at him, then the cages in his hand, and gave him a quizzical look.

“Surprise?” he said sheepishly, setting the cages down on the table, removing the covers from them.

“Oh Harry! You shouldn’t have!” said Mrs. Weasley, wiping her hands on her apron and peering into the cages at the two young owls.

The first owl was a tan and white tawny owl and the second was a white, grey, and black barn owl.

“They’re beautiful,” she said, looking up at him, “But two owls? You really shouldn’t have.”

Before Harry could say anything, Ginny walked into the kitchen, “What’s this about two owls?” When she saw the owls on the table, she squealed and ran over to them. “Oh they’re so cute! I especially love this black, white, and grey one!”

“Then she’s yours,” said Harry.

Ginny looked up at Harry, shocked, “What? I thought you got these for mum?”

“I was just about to explain,” he said, smiling and taking the barn owl out of the cage. He handed the owl to Ginny, then did the same with the tawny owl and handed that one to Mrs. Weasley.   
“I got one owl for the Weasley family, since Errol passed away this morning. And, I thought it was time that I got another owl, but instead of her just being mine, that she’d be ours,” he said, looking at Ginny.

“Ours?” she asked, looking at him then back down at the owl, then back to him.

“I figured with you going to Hogwarts soon and me working all the time, we’d be sending owls back and forth a lot. This way, we have our own owl to send the letters with.”

Ginny gave the little bird a little scratch behind her ear, then placed the owl in the cage. Without saying anything, she wrapped her arms around Harry’s waist and gave him a hug. “Thank you,” she said.

He rested his head on top of hers and smiled. He looked over at Mrs. Weasley, who was smiling at them, petting her new owl.

That evening, the discussion around the dinner table was what to name the Weasley family’s newest owl.

“I think his name should be something mighty, like Hercules!” said Ron.

“He doesn’t really look like a Hercules,” said Hermione, “What about something like… Paddington?”

Ron scrunched his nose at the thought, “Like that bear? No way.”

“What about… Eugene?” suggested Mr. Weasley, to which everyone unanimously objected to.

“What about…--”

“Zeus,” said Mrs. Weasley, who had been quiet all throughout dinner, “I think he should be named Zeus.”

The group around the table looked at the owl, who looked back at them with big, round eyes. “What do you think? Do you like the name Zeus?” Ron asked the owl.

The owl clicked his beak a few times and hooted.

“Looks like that’s the winner,” said Ron, grinning.

“What about your owl Harry? Did you decide on a name yet?” Hermione asked.

“I’m letting Ginny name her,” he said, looking over at Ginny.

“I think we should name her Lyra,” said Ginny, scratching the owl’s head then feeding her a piece of bread. The owl nipped playfully at Ginny and she laughed.

“Well that’s settled then,” said Harry, finishing up the last of his dinner, “I do have something else I wanted to discuss though. Ginny’s birthday is coming up in a few days and I was wondering,” he looked over to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, “If it would be alright if I took her out on a proper date that night? Just me and her?” he looked to Ginny, “I mean, that’s if you’d want to?”

“I’d love to!” said Ginny beaming, then she looked over at her parents, “Please?”

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley looked at each other and discussed quietly amongst themselves. After a moment, Mrs. Weasley looked back to Harry and Ginny and smiled, “Sure, that would be fine. Since her birthday is during the week, we can plan for a family gathering on the weekend,” Mrs. Weasley looked at her daughter fondly, “It’s not every day your only daughter turns 17. We’re going to throw one last party before you head off to Hogwarts for your final year.”  

Ginny got up and hugged her parents, “Thanks Mum, thanks Dad!”

Mrs. Weasley hugged her back then looked over at Harry, “Now, just so we’re clear, you will _not_ be taking my daughter on that motorbike of yours, is that understood young man?” she said sternly, though with still a twinkle in her eye. 

“Yes, ma’am,” said Harry with a grin.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Please like/kudos and comment!


	12. Chapter 12

On the morning of Ginny’s birthday, she woke up to her room filled with red and gold balloons. There were so many that she had difficulty walking to her door. She realized that there was something inside all of the balloons so she used her wand and started popping them. When she was done, her floor was littered with handfuls of galleons and candy. “That George,” she said, laughing and scooping everything onto her bed.

As she opened her bedroom door, she found a single red rose on the banister of the stairs. She picked it up and found more along the way down the stairs. She collected them all, 16 in total. The 17th one was in Harry’s hand, who was waiting at the bottom of the stairs.

“Happy Birthday, Ginny,” he said, handing her the last rose.

“Oh Harry… they’re beautiful. Thank you.” With a free hand, she touched his cheek before kissing him, sweet and softly.

Someone cleared their voice behind them, “Um, excuse me. We’d like to wish the birthday girl a Happy Birthday too, Potter,” said Charlie, teasingly.

“Charlie!” exclaimed Ginny. She handed the flowers to Harry, then she ran over and gave her brother a hug. “What are you doing here? I thought you were busy in Romania?”

“And miss my only sister’s 17th birthday? Never!” he said with a chuckle.

Bill, Fleur, Percy, and George were all there too. After a round of hugs and Happy Birthday’s, Mrs. Weasley filed everyone into the kitchen for Ginny’s favorite breakfast; Blueberry waffles with whipped cream.

“Fleur and I have a little something for you,” said Bill, handing her a box.

Ginny tore open the box and pulled out an empty picture frame. She was about to ask if the picture was missing when she read the inscription on the frame: “World’s Greatest Aunt”.

Ginny gasped and looked at Fleur and her brother, “Does this mean what I think it means?”

“Oi!” said Fleur putting a hand to her stomach, “I am going to have a bebe!”

The room burst with excitement. Mrs. Weasley couldn’t contain herself and hugged Fleur tightly while weeping with joy.

“I’m going to be a grandma! And you!” she pointed to Mr. Weasley, “You’re to be a granddad!”

“By golly,” said Mr. Weasley, with a shocked grin on his face.

“When are you due?” asked Hermione, once everyone had started to calm down.

“We only just found out, but the midwife thinks around May,” said Bill.

“Oh how exciting!” said Mrs. Weasley, piling on more waffles onto Fleur’s plate. “Eat up dear, you’re eating for two now you know.”

Fleur tried to protest and say that she was already stuffed, but Mrs. Weasley was too excited to listen. Thankfully, Bill ate her second helping for her.

Ginny received the rest of her presents from her family as they finished their waffles. Percy gave her information about a vault that he opened in Gringott’s just for her. “I even put a little bit of money in there,” he said proudly before giving her a stern look, “But, it’s for saving, not spending. Got it?”

“Got it. Thanks Percy!” said Ginny, hugging him.

Hermione got Ginny a homework planner, “To help keep track of all the homework and tests that we’ll be doing this upcoming year!” she said excitedly.

Ginny thanked Hermione while Harry and Ron snickered, remembering the time that Hermione had gotten them that exact same gift.

Charlie got her some dragonhide gloves for quidditch and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley got her a family watch, just like her brothers before her, but the bands on hers were slimmer than the boys. Ginny noted that her mom added Harry to the watch as well.

“Thanks everyone. All the gifts are fantastic,” she said with a wide grin on her face.

Since it was a weekday, everyone had to get ready to leave after breakfast. Bill also had to take Fleur home due to not feeling well. “She’s been having some morning sickness and usually the only thing that helps is rest,” explained Bill. Mrs. Weasley hugged them both, Fleur twice, before letting them go, with a promise that she’d send an owl with helpful tips on preventing morning sickness later that day.

Percy headed into work and Charlie needed to do things in Diagon Alley before heading back to Romania, “I’ll be back this weekend for the party though,” he said with a wink before apparating.

Harry, Ron, and Mr. Weasley all got ready to leave for the Ministry. As Mr. Weasley was saying goodbye to Mrs. Weasley, and Ron said goodbye to Hermione, Harry pulled Ginny aside. “I should be back around 5, hopefully. Then once I change, we’ll head out, ok?”

“Can’t wait,” she said, giving him a kiss goodbye. “Do I get a hint of what’s on the agenda for the evening?”

“I’d like to keep it a surprise,” he said with a grin.

“Well, what should I wear? T-shirt? Shorts? Skirt? Pants? A dress?” she asked, grabbing the front of his cloak and shaking him playfully.

He laughed and grabbed her hands, kissing her again, “You look great in anything, Gin. But I won’t object if you decide to wear a dress,” smiling, he kissed her one last time before walking out and apparating to the Ministry.

“Hermione…” said Ginny, as everyone left, “My room. Now. We have to raid my closet, and maybe yours as well. I got a date to get ready for!” she said excitedly.

When the work day had finally ended, Harry got back to the Burrow as fast as he could. He walked into the kitchen as Hermione came walking down the stairs from Ginny’s room, “She’s still getting ready, but should be done soon. She’ll probably be ready by the time you change.”

“Thanks Hermione,” he said, dashing up to his room. He quickly changed out of his work robes and put on a pair of trouser pants and a button up shirt. He went into his trunk and pulled out the small wrapped gift he had and placed it in his pocket.

Harry went back downstairs and noticed that it was empty. “Ginny?” he called out.

“I’m just about ready,” she called from somewhere upstairs, “I’ll be down in just a moment, ok?”

Harry sat on the couch and waited. He was about to pick up one of Mrs. Weasley gardening magazines for something to read when he heard footsteps walking down the stairs. He turned around and saw Ginny, smiling at him.

“So, how do I look?” she asked, “Is this alright for what you have planned this evening?”

His stomach flip-flopped upon seeing her. She was wearing a simple, form fitting dress in a dark purple color that fell just below her knees. Gold bracelets decorated her wrists and she wore sparkling earrings. Her hair, vibrantly red against the purple of the dress, was half way up, held in by a flower shaped hair clip. He got up from the couch and walked over to her.

“It’s perfect,” he said, reaching for both of her hands and kissing the tops of each one. He had so many thoughts running through his head, but the one that was at the top of his mind was, “I love you, Ginny.”

“I love you too, Harry,” she said with a smile.

He smiled back at her and asked, “You ready to go?”

Ginny nodded, intertwining her fingers with his. She grabbed a small purse and light jacket from the coat hook and walked out the kitchen door. Harry led Ginny to the perimeter of the Burrow, then stopped, pulled her in close for a kiss, then disapparated together to their destination.

* * *

Ginny kept her eyes closed until she knew they had arrived. She opened her eyes and saw that they were in an alleyway. “Where are we?” she asked.

Harry smiled at her and nodded towards the entrance of the alley, “Take a look,” he said.

She walked over and peered out, smiling upon the realization.

“London,” she said in awe.

Harry nodded, “I figured you probably haven’t been here too often, aside from going to Wizarding places. But tonight, we’ll just be two young people, out on the town.”

He offered his hand to her and she took it, smiling. They exited the alley and walked down the street.

“So what exactly are we doing tonight in London?” Ginny asked excitedly.

“I’d still like to keep most of the activities a surprise, but first and foremost… Dinner. I made reservations at a restaurant for 6 o’clock.”

“Now that you mention it, I am hungry. What restaurant are we going to?”

“You’ll see, it should just be right around the corner… Yes, there it is,” he said.

She looked to where he indicated and read the sign above the door, “Stef’s Italian” she read aloud. She looked at him excitedly, “I’ve never really had Italian food. Sure, mum has made the occasional spaghetti, but that’s about it.”   
“To be honest, I haven’t had much more then that as well. I figured we could try it out together,” he looked at her and squeezed her hand as they walked into the restaurant. The hostess at the front greeted them with a friendly smile, “Good evening. Do you have a reservation?” she asked.

“Yes, should be for two, under Potter,” Harry said.

The hostess looked at the list and smiled, “Ah yes, we have you down right here. If you’ll just follow me, I’ll take you to your table.”

The hostess, who Ginny noted was named Alice, gathered two menus and led them to a small dining table, which was located in front of a window so that they could view the streets of London. Harry pulled out the chair for Ginny, who thanked him as she sat down, then seated himself, as Alice placed their menu’s in front of them. “Your waiter will be with you shortly,” she said, smiling at the two. She reached into her pocket and took out a matchbook, handing it to Harry. “Incase you want to light the candle,” she said with a knowing wink, before going back to the front of the restaurant.

Harry lit the candle that was in the middle of the table then pocketed the matchbook. He watched Ginny look through the menu, forgetting to look at his own.   
“Hello, my name is Tony and I’ll be your waiter this evening. Can I start you two off with something to drink or some appetizers?”

“Hm?” said Harry, still looking at Ginny, then realized the waiter was next to him. “Oh sorry. Um, I think we still need a few moments, thanks.” The waiter nodded and went to the next table.

“Anything look good?” Harry asked Ginny, as he finally picked up his own menu.

“Yes, everything,” she said laughing, “What are you thinking of getting?”

“Not sure yet, but I think we should get some calamari for an appetizer,” he said, peering over his menu at her.

She looked on the menu and read the description. “Squid?” she said while scrunching up her nose.

“ _Scared_ , Weasley?” he asked teasingly.

She narrowed her eyes at him, “Oh, it’s on Potter.”

Harry smiled at her and motioned for the waiter. He ordered the calamari along with two strawberry lemonades. The waiter came back shortly with their drinks, along with a basket of fresh baked bread and homemade butter.

Ginny buttered a piece of bread and handed it to Harry, then made herself one. They continued to talk about what they should order as they ate their bread.

Tony came back with a full basket of calamari, with some dipping sauce to the side.

“Are you ready to order, or will you need a few more minutes?” he inquired.

“We’re ready,” said Harry, setting down his menu.

Tony turned to Ginny, “Miss?”

“I’d like to order the linguini with the alfredo sauce, please.”

Tony wrote down the order on his pad of paper then turned to Harry, “And you, sir?”

“I’ll have the lasagna,” he said, as he gathered the menus and handed them to Tony.

When he left, the two of them looked at the big basket of calamari in front of them. Harry looked at Ginny and said with a grin, “Ladies first.”

She glared at him, but couldn’t hold it for long before the grin he was giving her made her smile. She picked up one of the breaded, circular pieces and dipped it into the sauce. She popped the whole piece in her mouth before she could think about it and chewed.

“That’s actually pretty good,” she said full of surprise, eating another one.

Harry took one for himself and agreed with her that while they were a little chewy, they were rather tasty.

As soon as they cleared out the calamari basket, Tony came by to replace it with their food order.

They ate their food, sharing with each other so that they could try the different dishes, and talked throughout their meal.

Harry took the last bite of his lasagna and sat back in his seat, “That was delicious. I am stuffed though,” he said.

“Same,” said Ginny, wiping her mouth with the cloth napkin that was provided.

They paid for their meal, then hand in hand, they walked down the street, passing by shops and other restaurants in the area.

“So what’s next?” Ginny asked, leaning into Harry as they walked.

Harry reached into his pocket and pulled out the gift, “Present time,” he said, handing her the small, rectangle shaped box.

“A present?” she said, smiling and shaking her head, “Harry, you’ve already gotten me beautiful red roses and a night out in London. I couldn’t possibly need anything else.”

“Well, if you don’t want it…” he said, starting to put it back in his pocket.

“I didn’t say that!... “ she said laughing, reaching for the gift.

Ginny unwrapped the present, revealing a dark red, rectangle box. With excitement and curiosity, she opened it. Inside was a heart-shaped golden snitch locket, with a thin, gold chain connected to the wings.

“Oh Harry..” she said, looking at him then back at the necklace, “It’s beautiful.”

“Look inside,” he said softly.

She opened the locket and inside was a picture of the two of them, taken at Harry’s birthday party. Their eyes were closed and their foreheads were together.  Ginny remembered this moment. “This was taken when we were slow dancing at your birthday,” she said.

Harry nodded, “Dennis Creevey took it and sent me some photo’s of the party. I really liked this one so I put it in the locket. There’s more though, read the inscription,” he said.

She moved the locket so that she could read the writing on the other side of the picture:

_I love you._   
_Always have,_   
_always will_   
_-H.P._

She looked at Harry, “I love it. Can you help me put it on?” Harry nodded and took the necklace from the box and placed it around her neck. Ginny looked down and noticed it laid right where her heart was. She looked to Harry and said, “I love you. This is the most perfect gift ever.”

Harry kissed her gently then put an arm around her shoulders, while she placed hers around his waist, and they continued walking to their next destination.

* * *

Harry thoroughly enjoyed watching Ginny experience new things for her birthday. After dinner, they made their way to a movie theater where they watched the movie “After Ever”. It had been both his and Ginny’s first time going to the movies; the Dursley’s had taken Dudley plenty of times, but Harry was always left behind. He made a mental note to take Ginny out to the movies more often; sharing popcorn, a soda, and even some kisses in the dark was definitely something he would like more of.

After the movie, they decided to get some dessert at a local ice-cream parlor. Ginny ordered a strawberry cheesecake ice-cream cone while Harry ordered mint-chocolate chip sundae. They ate their ice-cream on a park bench, taking in the last of the sights before they had to head back to the Burrow.

Harry took out his pocket-watch and looked at the time, “We really should be heading back. I promised your parents that I’d have you back by midnight and it’s a quarter till then.”

“Is it really that late already?” Ginny asked as she ate the last of her waffle cone, “This evening has gone by so fast. I’ve had such a good time… Maybe we can do this every year for my birthday,” she said wishfully.

“I think I can arrange for that to happen,” he said, getting up from the bench and taking Ginny’s hand. Since it was so late, they glanced around to make sure no one was around or  watching before he apparated them both back to the Burrow.

Unsure if anyone was still awake, they made sure to be quiet as they made their way through the house. Harry wasn’t surprised however, to see that Ron and Hermione were still awake in the sitting room, playing a round of Wizard’s Chess.

“It’s about time you guys got back!” said Ron, exacerbated, “Where’ve you been anyways?”

Ginny hung her purse and coat on the hook and sat next to Hermione, “Harry took me to London. We went out to dinner, saw a movie, then got ice-cream,” she looked to Harry to who had sat next to Ron, “It was wonderful.”

“What’s a movie?” asked Ron curiously.

Ginny thought about how best to describe it, “It’s...like a play, but it’s recorded somehow and they play it on a giant screen of sorts and then people go to theaters and watch it.”

“That sounds wicked. I wouldn’t mind trying out this movie thing,” he said, glancing at Hermione.

Hermione laughed and reached over and took his hand, “I’ll take you to the movies before I head back to school, Ron. I promise.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Please leave Kudo's and Reviews :)


	13. Chapter 13

“Ginny, have you received your Hogwarts letter yet?” Hermione asked one day after lunch. Ginny was in her room, reading a magazine on her bed, while Harry was sitting on a chair, feet propped on her bed, reading the book that Ron had given him for his birthday.

“No, not yet. I suspect we’ll get them soon though. We usually get them shortly after my birthday every year,” Ginny said.

“Oh, ok,” said Hermione, sounding disappointed.

“Everything ok, Hermione?” asked Harry at the same time Ron entered the room.

“Yes, everything is fine. I just thought we’d get our letters by now. I’m hoping the Headmistress won’t forget that I want to come back this year,” said Hermione sheepishly.

Ron put an arm around her shoulders and kissed her temple, “I’m sure she won’t forget. But I wouldn’t be surprised if the letters are a little late. She has a lot going on right now, with getting the castle ready for students again and probably hiring new faculty.”

“Yes, I suppose you’re right,” she said, giving him a small smile and kissing his cheek, “I’m just being silly…”

“Ginny, Hermione! You’ve got some owls waiting for you in the kitchen,” called Mrs. Weasley.

“OH! That must be them!” said Hermione excitedly as she dashed out of the room.

Ron shook his head and followed after her.

Ginny hopped out of her bed and walked over to Harry, who was still sitting in her chair.

“Do I have to go back? Can’t I stay here with you?” she said, pretending to pout.

Harry chuckled as he got up and kissed her forehead, “Yes, love. You have to go back. Come on, let’s go see what your letter has to say.” He put an arm around her as they walked down the stairs.   
“Probably the same as every other letter… School starts on September the 1st; be at Platform Nine and Three-Quarters by 11 o’clock; here is a list of books…. blah blah blah.”

Before Harry could respond, they heard squealing from the kitchen.

“Sounds like Hermione got some good news,” he said.

As they entered the kitchen, Hermione jumped up to show Harry and Ginny a red and gold badge, with the words “Head Girl” written on it. “I made Head Girl!!” she exclaimed.

“Who here is _not_ surprised?” asked Ron, raising his hand and grinning at her.

Harry and Ginny raised theirs as well, smiling at Hermione.

“Well, I am!” said Hermione, “I mean, I didn’t even go to school at all last year!”

“Well, that’s because we were trying to find a way to defeat You-know-who,” said Ron, “And they only choose Head Boys and Girls who are good role models and stuff.”

Hermione smiled widely at him, then went over and gave him a loud, smacking kiss, “Do you mind if I borrow Pig? I need to write to mum and dad.”

“Sure, go on ahead,” he said, smiling wistfully at her as she ran upstairs.

“Are you going to open your letter, Gin?” Harry asked, picking it up from the table and handing it to her.

“I suppose. But like I said, it’s always the same,” she said, as she tore open the envelope, “The only new information is the list of school books and…” she stopped when something hard fell to the ground. She picked it up and looked at it. A wide grin formed as she said, “I made Quidditch Captain!”

“Well I guess you don’t have to worry about not making the team this year,” Harry teased before giving her a hug, “Congratulations, Gin. You’ll make an awesome captain.”

“Thanks, Harry. Hey, I just thought of something… the last person who wore this badge… was you!” she said smiling at him. She pinned it onto her shirt, “I’m going to go find mum and dad. They’re probably out back in the garden.”

Harry walked over to the bowl of fruit on the counter and took an apple. He bit into it then saw that Ron was sitting gloomily at the table.

“Apple?” Harry offered, picking up another one from the bowl.

Ron shook his head, “Nah. I’m not hungry.” He got up and started going up the stairs, heading towards his room.

Harry frowned and followed. He found Ron, lying on his bed, staring up at the ceiling.

“You ok, mate? I thought you’d be happier with Hermione as Head Girl and your sister as Quidditch Captain,” said Harry, sitting at the foot of the bed.

Ron looked at him, “I’m happy for them, I really am. I’m just… forget it, it’s going to sound stupid,” he said, looking at the ceiling again.

“So? When has that stopped you before?” asked Harry, smiling.

Ron debating throwing a pillow at him, but decided against it, “Don’t ever tell Hermione I said this, but, I don’t want her to go back to school this year…” Harry frowned, about to say something when Ron continued, “It’s just going to suck, you know? In a few weeks, she’ll be going off to school for the whole year. It’s been nice having her around, without having to worry about anything. I was hoping since we’re of-age in both the wizarding and muggle world, that maybe we could’ve moved in together… but instead, she’s going back to school while I’m stuck living with my parents still,” he said almost bitterly.

“It’s not like we’re not going to see her, or Ginny, the whole school year. They have Hogsmeade visits that we can probably go to and meet up. They’ll be back for Christmas and Easter holidays. And I’m sure McGonagall will let us visit if we really wanted too.”  
“I guess you got a point. I forgot about Hogsmeade visits,” said Ron, cheering up.

“Plus, you know you don’t _have_ to live here if you don’t want to. I’ve been thinking a lot about getting my own place in London near the Ministry. I’m not Hermione, but maybe if you like, you can come live with me?” offered Harry.

“Really?” asked Ron, trying to contain his excitement “That’ll be cool! Only…”

“Only what?” asked Harry.

“You get to tell Mum,” he said grinning.

* * *

Later, Harry and Ron found Hermione and Ginny on the couch, talking about the upcoming school term. Harry sat next to Ginny, but Ron stood standing where he was.

“I think we should go to Diagon Alley tomorrow while the guys are at work to get our school supplies,” said Hermione.

Ginny nodded in agreement and was about to say something when Ron interrupted.

“Hermione, can I ask you a question?”

“Yes, Ron?” she said, turning to look at him.

“I was wondering… since you’re going to be leaving soon and we won’t get a chance to see each other for a while… Would you like to go out to dinner and try that movie thing?” he asked nervously.

Hermione beamed at him, “I’d love to, Ronald. When do you want to go?”

“Oh, um… I don’t know. When would you like to go?” he asked.

“I’m free this evening,” she said, still smiling at him.

He smiled back at her, “You sure? That works for me. I’ll need to head into Gringotts to exchange some money first…”  

“I have some muggle money left over from when I took Ginny out. Why don’t you borrow some?” Harry offered.

“Are you sure? I promise to pay you back,” said Ron.

“Even if I told you not to bother, I know you would anyways. So here,” he his wallet out from his pocket and handed some paper money and muggle coins to Ron, who inspected it curiously.

“Well, it looks like I need to go freshen up and change,” said Hermione, getting up from the couch. She stopped long enough to give Ron a quick kiss on the cheek, before heading upstairs.

“I better go help,” said Ginny. At Harry’s curious frown, she laughed, “It’s a girl thing. See you in a bit.” She kissed Harry, then patted Ron on the back as she passed him.

“Never thought I’d be nervous asking my own girlfriend out on a date,” he said with a sigh as he sat on the couch, “Thank Merlin she said yes.”

* * *

Instead of apparating like Harry and Ginny did, Hermione and Ron and drove to London in Hermione’s car. Since Ron was unfamiliar with muggle restaurants in London, he let Hermione pick the place to eat that evening. She decided to try something new for both of them and chose a sushi restaurant. It took a lot of convincing, but Ron finally managed to try some specialty rolls, which he said were not that bad. Hermione quite liked the raw tuna on top of rice, which was the one item that Ron absolutely refused to touch; it reminded him too much like the slugs he constantly burped up in his second year.

After dinner, Hermione took Ron to the movies. Ron was enamored with the whole concept and kept asking so many questions during the movie that she had to threaten to jinx him before he stopped talking. Afterwards, they found a yogurt shoppe where you can pick your own flavor and put on any sort of toppings. Ron chose three different flavors of yogurt and piled his high with lots of treats while Hermione had cheesecake frozen yogurt with fresh berries on top. They sat on two stools with a small round table between them, eating their dessert and talking.

“So, are you excited about going back to Hogw… I mean, school?” asked Ron, almost forgetting he was in a muggle establishment.

Hermione nodded, “You know me, I’ve always loved going to school. I’m curious to see how, or if, anything has changed.”

Ron nodded slowly, taking a few bites of his dessert, “I’m going to miss you,” he said quietly, looking down at his spoon.

Hermione reached over with her free hand and placed it on top of his, “I’m going to miss you too, Ron.”

He looked up at her, giving her a sheepish smile, “Ya?”

“Of course I am. But I was hoping you would be able to come see me when we have Hogsmeade visits and such,” she said.

Ron nodded, “Harry mentioned something about that as well. He also mentioned that he’s thinking of looking into getting a place here, in London, and wanted to know if I’ll be his flatmate.”

“Oh?” asked Hermione surprised, “Are you going to? Move in with him, I mean?”

“I think so… I don’t want to be living with my mum and dad forever, or by myself for that matter.”

“I think you and Harry getting your own place is a great idea,” said Hermione, smiling.

Ron smiled back, turning his hand so that he could interlock his fingers with hers, “At least until you get done with school, then I was thinking maybe… you and I could get a place together?” suggested Ron, his ears turning red.

Hermione’s cheeks turned a light shade of pink as she nodded softly, “I’d like that.”

* * *

The few shorts weeks to September 1st came within a blink of an eye and Ron and Harry found themselves back at Platform Nine and Three quarters, saying goodbye to Ginny and Hermione. Ginny gave her parents a hug, with a promise to send an owl as soon as she got settled. When she got to Harry, she took both of her hands in his and asked, “Going to miss me, Potter?”

“Maybe…. just a little,” he said grinning at her then pulling her close to give her a kiss. “Come on, I’ll walk you on board the train,” he said, picking up the owl cage where Lyra was dozing comfortably.

Hermione gave a quick hug to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and thanked them for everything they did over the summer. When she got to Ron, he hugged him and gave a quick kiss, “I’ll see you in a few week’s, ok?” she said, turning to dash off. Ron grabbed her hand though which caused her to stop. She laughed and said, “Ron, seriously, I need to go. I have Head Girl duties. I need to help…”

“I know, but I need a proper goodbye if I’m not going to see you for a few weeks,” he said with a grin.

She rolled her eyes dramatically, but smiled as he pulled her closer. She gave him a better, longer kiss and when they broke apart she asked while laughing, “Better? Can I do go my duties now, please?”

“Ya ya, go on. But owl me!” he called after her when she ran off. She bumped into Harry as he was coming off the train and gave him a quick hug with instruction to stay safe and to keep Ron out of trouble.

Harry, Ron, Mr., and Mrs. Weasley watched as the train started moving and slowly gained speed.

“Seems weird, not being on the train with them,” Harry commented, as they watched the last of the Hogwarts Express round the corner and out of sight.

“It does,” agreed Ron, as he and Harry followed his parents out of the platform, “But now we go and get to be Aurors, so that kind of makes up for it,” he said with a grin.

“Well, not full-fledged ones,” Harry corrected and added with a grin, “but we’re getting there.”

“So, did you talk to Mum about getting a flat yet?” Ron asked quietly so that only Harry could hear.

Harry shook his head, “No, not yet.”

Ron made chicken sounds under his breath which made Harry laugh, “You should talk, you’re the one having _me_ tell your mum.”

“Tell me what, dear?” asked Mrs. Weasley, who had stopped just ahead of them to tell them goodbye before they left for the Ministry. Mr. Weasley seemed to have already disapparated.  

Ron paled and looked to Harry who nervously scratched his head, “Well, um… I was thinking, I mean, we were both thinking, that maybe Ron and I could… get our own place. In London.”

Mrs. Weasley tried not to look crestfallen, “Oh. Well, if that’s what you want to do, that’s fine.”

“It’s not that we don’t like home mum,” said Ron quickly, “It’s just that, well, Harry and I are adults now…”

Mrs. Weasley smiled and patted her son’s cheek, “I understand Ron,” she looked to both he and Harry, eyes watering slightly, “It’s just hard sometimes when your children decide to leave the nest, so to speak. But, I do support your decision, if that is what you were after.”

Ron smiled at his mother, “Mum, don’t be sad. It’s not like you won’t see us anymore.”

Harry nodded in agreement and added, “We’ll probably be around to get some real food every now and again anyways.”

Mrs. Weasley chuckled, “I wouldn’t want it any other way. Although, it would be better if you learned how to cook for yourselves, even just a little bit. So until you two find a place, I’ll teach you both some cooking basics, alright?”  
Harry and Ron agreed, both feeling better now that Mrs. Weasley seemed to have warmed up to the idea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Please Kudo and comment!


	14. Chapter 14

> _Dear Harry,_   
>  _We made it safely to Hogwarts, though you probably know this by now as Hermione had sent a letter to Ron an hour ago._   
>  _The castle looks AMAZING! You would never have known that a battle took place here just a few months ago. Even Hagrid’s hut looks untouched (he told me to tell you ‘Hello’ by the way and wants to know when you’ll visit)._   
>  _The Headmistress made some changes today, and I think they are for the better. She said that while we still have house points and will have quidditch matches, she doesn’t want us to have such huge house rivalries as before. So now, during the meals we are encouraged to sit wherever we want; we are not obligated to sit just with those in our house. Infact, after today, she informed us there will be a bunch of smaller tables rather than four huge ones like before. We’ll see how this goes, but so far I think everyone is in agreement, even the Slytherins!_   
>  _I scheduled to have Quidditch tryouts next Saturday. I hope to find some good team members this year. Wish me luck!_   
>  _I know it’s only been a day, but how are you? I miss you. Make sure to keep taking your Dreamless Sleep potion since I won’t be there to comfort you if you have a nightmare… unless you want Ron to take my place, then that’s entirely up to you (haha!)_
> 
> _I love you,_   
>  _Ginny xoxox_

Harry smiled at the letter from Ginny, already missing her presence at the Burrow. He rolled up the letter and placed it into an old shoe box which was inside his school chest, then grabbed some blank parchment and a quill to write her back:

> _Dear Ginny,_   
>  _Yes, Ron boasted how his girlfriend wrote to him before mine, which I told him it wasn’t competition (so this just means you’ll have to write to me more then Hermione does so I can boast about it, ok?)_   
>  _Tell Hagrid that I will send him an owl later this week._   
>  _I’m glad to hear about the castle! I was worried that it was broken beyond repair, but McGonagall ensured me it would be back in working order before the start of school term. Looks like she delivered on that! I can’t wait to visit and see for myself._   
>  _As for the new seating arrangements, that sounds like an awesome idea! I wonder if things would have worked out differently if it was that way when I was attending Hogwarts the last few years._   
>  _Let me know right after tryouts how things went. I will keep my fingers crossed for you for an awesome team so you can smash all the other ones into oblivion!_   
>  _As for your brother, what he and I do in the privacy in my bedroom is our business… I mean, a Weasley is a Weasley, right? Kidding! No one can replace you, love._   
>  _Speaking of me and your brother, we’re going to start looking into flats this week. Hope we find one that suits us._
> 
> _I love you,_   
>  _Harry_   
>  _P.S. The Burrow is too quiet without you and I miss you like crazy. Let me know when the first Hogsmeade visit is._

Harry read his letter over, then rolled it up. He’ll send it in the morning with Lyra so that Ginny can get it by lunch time tomorrow.

Harry crawled into bed, making sure to take his potion as Ginny instructed. He only forgot to take it once since he started it and while the nightmare that night was bad, it was thankfully not as horrible compared to the ones before. He hoped one day he’ll be able to start weaning off of the medication, or stop using it entirely; he wasn’t keen on taking it for the rest of his life, but if that’s what it took to get sleep without recurring nightmares, so be it.

A few days later, Harry was working on some paperwork in the Auror’s office when Ron came in and leaned a hip against his desk, “Hey Harry, got a moment?” he asked.

“Hm? Ya, what’s up?” he responded, not looking up from his desk.

“I was talking to Rhys about flats here in London and he gave me addresses to a few of them. I was thinking maybe after work we can check them out?”

Harry looked up at him, “That’ll be awesome! Oh wait,” he said, checking the date on the calendar, “I can’t today. I’m watching Teddy this evening for a bit.”

“Crap, that’s right, it’s Friday,” said Ron, running a hand through his hair.

“If you want, you can go look and tell me about them when I get back later?” offered Harry.

“If you’re Ok with that, then that works for me,” said Ron grinning.

Harry nodded, “I trust your judgement.”

“Cool. Thanks mate. You heading over to Andromeda’s right after work then?”

“Right after I finish this up. I should be back at the Burrow around 9 or 10.”

“Ok, I’ll see you then,” said Ron, as he patted Harry on the back before heading out of the office.

* * *

Harry apparated in front of the Tonk’s residence then made his way to the front door. It had become customary to knock a few times then enter, even if Andromeda didn’t answer, since sometimes she was busy with Teddy and couldn’t get to the door. As soon as he walked in, he heard wailing from the kitchen and went to see what was happening.

Andromeda was walking around trying to calm a very distraught child. When she saw Harry she gave him a look of relief, “Oh Harry, I’m so glad you’re here. I think he understood when I told him you were coming because right after I did, he started crying hysterically. He even changed his hair color to black, like yours.”

Harry set down his cloak on a chair and took the baby from her, who immediately stopped crying but was still whimpering softly and had started to hiccup.

“Ted, you can’t do that to your grandmum,” he said, cradling the baby and talking to him gently, “Crying and carrying on like isn’t nice to her. When she says I’ll be here soon, she means it. No need to carry on that like. I do like that hair color on you though.”

He continued to talk to Teddy, trying to calm him down. When the baby started babbling at him and his hair changed back to the teal color he was known for, Harry knew the worse was over.

“He’s better now, Dromeda. You can head on out now if you want. Are there bottles ready for him or do I need to make some?”

“There is one ready, but since he’s five months old now I’ve started him on solid food too,” she said, indicating to something green and mashed up in a bowl on the counter. “Feed him that in about an hour, then he’ll probably need a bath… if I’m not back by 8, then please give him a bottle and see if he’ll go to sleep for you, ok?”

Harry nodded, then handed Teddy back to his grandmother so she could kiss his wet, rosy cheeks. He squealed and tried grabbing her hair, which made her laugh.

Harry took Teddy into the living room and placed him on a blanket that was spread out for him to play on. He knew from last time that Andromeda was working on trying to get him to sit up unassisted. He was happily surprised to see that Teddy went a full two minutes before toppling over.

When Teddy started to get fussy, Harry knew he was ready for some food. He strapped him into the highchair that was in the kitchen and warmed up the mashed food in the bowl.

After a grueling half hour, with half of the bowl's contents on either on the floor, Harry, or in Teddy’s hair, Harry finally gave him the last bite.

“Now I know what she meant when she said you’d need a bath,” he said chuckling. He filled the sink with warm water and stripped the very messy child. With one hand, he supported the baby, while cleaning him with a soft washcloth with the other, just like how Ginny showed him before.

Clean, warm, and dry in his sleeper, Teddy yawned hugely and rubbed his eyes. Harry took his cue and warmed up the bottle waiting for him. He went to the nursery and sat in the rocker and gave his godson the bottle. With the lights dim, both Teddy and Harry fell asleep.

Andromeda came home a little while later. Usually Harry would be in the living room reading as he waited for her to return, and was confused when she didn’t see him there. She checked the nursery to look in on Teddy and smiled warmly when she spotted her grandson asleep in the arms on his godfather. She walked in softly and gently nudged Harry until he woke.

“Sorry,” she whispered, taking Teddy and placing him in his crib.

Harry yawned and stretched as he got up from the rocking chair. He and Andromeda walked quietly out and she closed the door without a sound.

“Thank you again, Harry for watching him. I know you don’t have too but it brings me such pleasure knowing how much you care for him. And even though he’s little, I know he really loves you.”

Harry smiled, “I love the little guy too,” he said, as he retrieved his coat from where he left it. “I’ll see you next week?” he asked. She nodded and gave him a hug, then laughed as she wiped some mashed up peas from his hair.

* * *

As promised, Ron was up and waiting for Harry when he returned, excitement showing all throughout his face.

“I’m pretty sure I found the best place for us,” he started before Harry even set down his cloak. “Two bedrooms. _Separate_ bathrooms. Living room, kitchen, even a fireplace! And best yet, it’s only for wizards so we don’t have to worry about muggles.”

“Sounds great! When can I see it?” Harry asked.

Ron grinned, “I knew you’d say that. The manager said we can stop by anytime tomorrow and if we like it, it’s ours!”

By mid-afternoon, Harry and Ron were giving Mrs. Weasley a tour of their newly obtained flat. “So, what do you think, Mum?” Ron asked nervously.

Mrs. Weasley walked around the living room area and into the small kitchen. She peered into each bedroom and nodded with satisfaction, “I think this is a nice place for you boys,” she said, giving them each a smile, “It’s the perfect size for you. But, I can’t help notice that it’s rather… bare.”

Ron ran a hand through his hair and looked at her sheepishly, “That’s my fault. When we saw the place before, it was full of furniture so I assumed it came that way. I guess that was just for show though.”

Mrs. Weasley nodded, then picked up her big hand bag, “Well, come on boys,” she said.

“Where are we going?” asked Harry.

“Why, furniture shopping, of course. I know of a few places that have just what you two need.”

Later that evening, with the help of Mrs. Weasley’s shopping expertise, Harry and Ron bought two beds, dressers, a couch, coffee table, dishes, silverware, and everything else they needed for their place. Harry bought most of the items with Ron’s promise that he’d pay him back as soon as he was able. The bigger items were delivered that day and once everything was set up, they went back to the Burrow to have dinner and gather their belongings.

“You two will need to go grocery shopping tomorrow,” instructed Mrs. Weasley, “Then you should be all set to go.”

“Thanks for all your help today, Mrs. Weasley,” said Harry, reaching over and squeezing her hand briefly.

“Ya, thanks Mum! If it weren’t for you, we’d be sleeping on the floor tonight,” said Ron, chuckling and shoveling food into his mouth.

Mrs. Weasley blushed slightly, “It’s no problem boys. Glad I could help,” she sniffled into her napkin, then got up quickly and said, “I’ll pack you some leftovers to bring to your new place.”

“Thanks Mum, Harry and I just need to put our stuff into our trunks then we’ll be ready to go,” Ron said, getting up from the table.

“Oh, and Ronald,” said Mrs. Weasley as he started up the stairs, “Make sure to fold your clothes, don’t just throw them into your trunk haphazardly. And make sure to pack all your underwear!”

Harry sniggered at Ron, who just rolled his eyes, “Yes, mum.”

When Harry entered his room, he was surprised to see a barn owl perched on top of Lyra’s cage. Lyra, who seemed to have just gotten back from delivering her letter to Ginny, didn’t seem too keen on the intruder, and kept clicking her beak and ruffling her feathers at him. The other owl didn’t seem to notice, but stuck out his leg where there was a letter attached.

“Wonder who this is from,” he asked out loud. He gave the owl a few owl treats before it took off, and put some in Lyra’s cage as well where he saw a letter attached to her as well. Thinking maybe the letter from the barn owl was from Hagrid, he tore open the letter, only to be completely wrong.

“I.. I don’t believe it,” he said dumbfounded, staring at the letter and sitting on his bed.

Ron came in, his trunk levitating behind him, “You ready mate?”

When Harry didn’t answer and just kept looking at the letter, Ron walked over to him and waved a hand in front of his face. “Everything ok? Who’s the letter from? Ginny? Is every alright??” he asked, starting to get worried.

Harry finally snapped out of it and looked at Ron, “It’s from… Dudley.”

“Dudley? As in… your _cousin_ , Dudley?”

Harry nodded, reading the letter over again.

“Why’d he write you for?” Ron asked curiously, sitting next to Harry.

“I wrote to him months ago, just telling him I was alive and said if he wanted to keep in touch to write back. I never got anything so I figured that was that.”

“What does the letter say?”

Harry handed Ron the letter.

> _Harry,_   
>  _Glad to hear you are safe. We just returned to our old house before your letter came, but mum and dad moved out because they said this one reminds them of you too much._   
>  _You can write if you want, I don’t mind the owls, they are neat._   
>  _Dad has me working with him at the factory but it’s boring. Thinking of going back to school._   
>  _I’d like to keep in touch if you want._   
>  _-Dudley_

Ron read the letter over then pointed to the date, “It says he wrote this months ago. I wonder why you just now got it?”

Harry shrugged, “I dunno.” He took the letter and tossed it into his trunk. He opened the letter that Lyra had, which was from Ginny.

> _Dear Harry,_   
>  _Tryouts went great and I think I have a pretty good team this year! I have Joe Rodgers and Alfie Hewitt as Beaters. Myself, Zara Hale, and Faith Preston as Chasers. Max Garner as Keeper and Gracie Randall as Seeker. I’m starting practices after dinner every Monday and Wednesday. Our first game is in three weeks, on September 26th, against Hufflepuff. Do you think you’ll be able to make it? I really hope you can. I miss your face._
> 
> _I love you,_   
>  _Ginny xoxox_   
>  _P.S. Just got notice that the first Hogsmeade weekend is in two weeks! Meet me at the Three Broomsticks at noon, ok?_

Harry chuckled at Ginny’s letter then got out some parchment to write her back.

“Harry, I thought we were going to the flat tonight?” Ron asked starting to sound irritated.

“We are, just give me a minute to write your sister back. I promise we’ll leave when I’m done,” he said.

“Alright. I’ll meet you downstairs.”

Harry nodded as he wrote Ginny a quick note.

> _Gin,_   
>  _Can’t say I know the team members but if you’re confident about them, then I will be too! You’ll be a great chaser and if need be, a great seeker as well._   
>  _I will try my very best to be at the game, as well as Hogsmeade. As long as nothing urgent comes up with work, I should be there._   
>  _Can’t wait to see you._
> 
> _Love you,_   
>  _Harry_   
>  _P.S. Ron and I got a flat today! I’ll tell you more about it in the next letter._

Harry gave the letter to Lyra, along with a few more treats, and sent her on her way. He gathered his clothes and other belongings from around the room and threw them in his trunk, then raced down the stairs to meet up Ron so they could go to their flat together.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Please Kudo's and comment.   
> Also follow @HufflepuffMom82 on twitter for updates!


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer - I try to keep this story as cannon as possible, but for this chapter, there is no information on Dudley other then that he and Harry would get together as adults to have their kids play together. This is how I hoped Dudley turned out. Hope you enjoy this chapter!

* * *

 

Dudley Dursley was mad. Well, more frustrated than mad. “Where are those bloody owls??” he asked to himself, scanning the skies. He was on his morning jog, and like every other morning before, he looked for owls. It had been four months since Harry wrote him, but the owl that delivered the letter had flown off before he was able to write back. He couldn’t blame the little guy; it took Dudley three days to even get a chance to respond. And if his Mum and Dad ever found an owl at his place, he’d never hear the end of it.

As he rounded the corner and reached number 4 Privet Drive, Dudley took his keys out of his pocket and walked into the house. He set the keys on the hook by the door and the letter he carried around incase he did find an owl, back on the entry way table. He went to kitchen, grabbed a bottled water, and chugged it down in three mighty gulps. Then he grabbed an apple and a multigrain muffin from the counter, sat down at the small, round kitchen table, and ate his breakfast while reading the paper.

Being in hiding for almost a year had changed Dudley, and he would like to think it was for the better. Since they were staying at a wizarding home, within a wizarding community, they quickly became aware that most electronics wouldn’t work. The house had one small TV with rabbit ears to receive channels as well as a radio, but computers, video game consoles, and mobile phones would glitch or just break with all the magic present in the area. After a week of complaining and lounging about, one of the Aurors who checked on them regularly suggested he try one of the many books that was located in the den of the house. Grudgingly, Dudley picked up a random book and started reading. Reading was never his strong suit, most academia wasn’t, but as time went on, he devoured book after book. Dudley found himself reading more instead trying to find a channel that worked on the old TV. One book he read was about bodily health. It was then that he realized how horrible he ate and how overweight he really was. When he refused dessert that night after dinner, his mother dropped the plate in shock then ran over and felt his forehead, adamant that he must be coming down with something.

It was shortly after that when he got up the nerve to ask one of the Aurors if he could leave the house and start jogging for exercise. They explained to him that while they remained in the house, they would be protected, but if he left the house, there was a chance that their hiding place would be discovered. He didn’t want to put his family in danger, so he thanked the Auror for the information and decided that he would start walking the stairs every day for a half hour instead. To his surprise, there was a jogging machine in the den the next day.  Since then, Dudley ate better and exercised more. He still loved the occasional cake and icecream, and there were nights where all he did lounge in front of the TV, but he was a much happier and healthier person than he was when Harry last saw him.

When Dudley was done with breakfast, he made his way to the living room and flipped on the only TV in the house to watch the news. He knew sometimes that the mysterious things that happened are usually due to the wizarding world, so he always tried to keep an ear out. He sat on the couch and looked around. The house was very different than it was just the year before. After they returned from hiding, his parents decided they didn’t want to live in the house anymore, claiming it reminded them too much of Harry, and bought another, smaller house a few blocks over. They had washed their hands of their nephew, but Dudley hadn’t; he hoped that some day he and Harry could at least be civil with each other.

Mr. and Mrs. Dursley had planned for Dudley to move with them, but he put his foot down and said that he wasn’t a child any more and needed to be on his own. His mother cried at how grown-up he was acting and his fathered boasted proudly to everyone he knew. But Dudley’s real reason was because he was tired of hearing all the complaining and bad-mouthing they did of “Harry’s kind”. He loved his parents and always would, but he wouldn’t bad-mouth the Wizarding community along with them, not after everything they did for them. He had hoped that they would at least start to respect “those people” who kept them out of harm's way during what was a horrible war going on.

The news had no stories of interest for Dudley, so he clicked it off, showered, and got ready for work. His father secured a job for him at his factory, which Dudley was thankful for as it paid the bills, but he hated it. He was only doing the job until he figured out what he wanted to do next, which would involve more schooling. He wanted to do it on his own though, so he started saving up and hopes that when he was ready to go back, he’d have the funds for it.

As he walked into work and passed his father’s office, he heard a gruff voice say, “Dudley my boy, come in here, please.”

Vernon Dursley looked the same as ever; heavily round in the middle, no neck, and a thick mustache. He sat in his office chair, which creaked as he swiveled it side to side. Dudley took a seat in front of his desk and said, “Morning, Dad. Is there anything I could help you with?”

“Your mum wants to know if you are still coming over for dinner tonight?”

Dudley nodded, “Yes, as I do every Friday,” he said with a grin.

“Good. Good. That’s what I told her, but your mum frets about you all day, wondering if you’re eating enough, getting enough sleep, and if you’ve met a girl yet.”

“I’ll reassure her I’m eating and sleeping fine when I come over,” he said, purposefully avoiding the last inquiry, “Is that the new contract?” he asked, pointing to a stack of papers on his father’s desk.

Mr. Dursley smiled at his son, “Very observant my boy,” he picked up the papers and handed them to Dudley, who started to leaf through them.

“That’s actually what I called you in for. I wanted to see if you would deliver this to the other office in London for me. I usually do it myself but there is an inspection at work later today and I need to make sure everything is in tip-top shape.”

Dudley nodded, “I’ll bring them straight away. Do you want me to pick you some lunch on the way back?”

Mr. Dursley smiled and patted his stomach, chuckling, “You know me all too well, son. Yes please, but none of that leafy, salad stuff. A big, juicy burger sounds about right.”

Dudley shook his head at his dad and bid him farewell as he left his office.

 

* * *

Dudley drove the short distance to the London office and dropped off the paperwork for his father. He knew there was a McDonalds just down the street, so he decided to walk over and pick up his dad a burger. As he was leaving the fast food establishment, he couldn’t help but notice two middle-aged looking people in funny clothes sitting on a bench inspecting their burgers. As he passed by them he overheard one of the say, “These are called ‘Big Mac’s’…. I hear the Muggles talking about them all the time!” he said excitedly.

“Shh!” said the other, “Not so loud.”

Dudley continued to walk, trying to figure out where he heard the word “muggle” before when it dawned on him; That was the word that that giant bloke said to Harry at the cottage when Harry found out he was a wizard!

Dudley turned around and walked over to the two gentlemen, “Um, excuse me, hello,” he said nervously, not wanting to scare them off. “I was just wondering… um… are you by chance…. wizards?” he dropped his voice at the last word, not wanting anyone else to overhear.

The two men looked at Dudley then at each other before bursting out laughing, “Why good lad, what makes you think we’re wizards? We’re just ordinary folk, eating some burgers.”

The other man nodded vigorously, taking a huge bite of his burger, shooting the other man a nervous glance.

“I couldn’t help but overhear your conversation and you used the world ‘muggle’. I know that’s a wizard term….” he started to explain, before the first one stood up suddenly.

“So sorry, just remembered, we have somewhere to be. Come along, Jack.”

Jack stood up and tipped his hat at Dudley, before following behind his friend.

“Wait!” called Dudley, hurrying after them, “I’m looking for my cousin. Perhaps you know him? His name is Harry… Harry Potter.”

The two gentlemen stopped so suddenly that Dudley almost ran into them.

“Sorry,” said Jack, “Did you say, ‘Harry Potter’?”

Dudley nodded, “Yes, he’s my cousin. I’ve been trying for months to get a letter to him but I don’t know how to contact him. Can you tell me how?”

“How do we know you’re telling the truth?” asked Jack’s friend skeptically.

“Come on Sam, how else would he know the person ‘Harry Potter’?” Jack asked his friend.

Sam shrugged, “Who knows,” he turned to Dudley and eyed him, “Ok. If you’re really his cousin then you must know personal things about him. What do you know of his parents?”

“Dudley thought for a moment, “I’m pretty sure his dad’s name is James. And his mum, Lily Evans, was my mum’s sister. They were killed when Harry was a baby. We were told for a long time that it was from a car crash but it was really because of an evil bloke named Volde--”

“You don’t need to say his name,” said Jack quickly then looked to Sam, “I think he’s telling the truth.”

“Hmm…. one more question. What’s Potter’s patronus?” asked Sam.

“Patronus? Oh! You mean that thing he uses to defend against dementors? It’s a deer.. NO wait! A stag. Yes, a stag.”

“How do you know?” asked Jack in awe.

“He saved me once from them, about three years ago,” said Dudley, shuddering upon the memory before looking at the two men, “So what do you say? Can you help me get in contact with him?”

Sam and Jack looked at each other; Sam shrugged and Jack smiled, turning back to Dudley, “Sure. It’s quite easy actually. You just need to get to a wizarding post office.”

“But where is one?” asked Dudley, “I know you use owls, but I never seem to find any around. Except for the zoo, which I tried, but all that resulted in was funny stares from strangers…”

“They’re hidden with enchantments from muggles like yourself, but I can give you an address to where you can find one,” Jack said, taking out a piece of paper from his pocket, “Er, do you happen to have a quill on you by chance?”

“No quill, but I do have a pen,” Dudley said, offering him one.

Jack wrote down an address then handed it to Dudley, “Go here. It will look like a run down, empty building, but when you enter… well, you’ll see,” he said with a grin

Dudley thanked the two men, shaking their hands. He had to get back to work to give his father his lunch, otherwise he would have tried to locate the building straight away. Dudley didn’t mind though, he was happy that he could finally had a way to get ahold of Harry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Please leave Kudo's or comments! Follow me on twitter for updates HufflepuffMom82


	16. Chapter 16

“Harry?” called Ron from his bedroom, “Have you seen my wand--Nevermind! I found it!” he said, coming out of his room and walking the short distance to Harry’s. “It was under my pillow...whatcha doing?” Ron asked, sitting on the edge of the bed.

Harry was rummaging through his trunk which was located at the foot of his bed. “Just going through my trunk. Figured it was time to get rid of some of the school supplies. Like this,” he said, holding up a blackened cauldron, “I don’t think I’ll need this anymore. And if I do, I’d probably be better off getting a new one.” He tossed it to the side where there were other various things in pile that Ron guessed was trash.

“Do you have any plans for after you’re done?” Ron asked as Harry placed a shoebox on top of his bed, well away from the rubbish pile.

“Not really. I was thinking of taking Sirius’s, I mean my motorbike, out for a bit.”

Ron picked up the shoebox, shook it, and opened it to see it containing letters. He placed it back on the bed, “Are you going to try to fly it today?” he asked curiously.

Harry shrugged, “I might. I’m going to drive it on the road for a bit, get used to it there with other cars and stuff. If I find an area with no muggles about I may try out the flying feature.” Harry looked to Ron and gave him a grin, “Why? Would you like to come?”

Ron perked up, “Sure! I haven’t anything else to do today.”

Harry nodded, scooping out the last of the trash from the bottom of his trunk and placing it in the rubbish pile, “We’ll head out after lunch. You can ride in the sidecar if you want. I need practice with someone riding in there as well.”

Ron looked at Harry skeptically, which made Harry laugh, “Don’t worry, I have a helmet for you and the sidecar is charmed as well so it’s fairly safe.”

Ron let out a nervous chuckle. Harry collected all the rubbish from his room and headed to kitchen where the trash bin was. Ron got up to close the trunk when he noticed a piece of paper stuck to one of the sides.

“Hey Harry,” he called, peeling the piece from the trunk and noticing it was a letter, “This was stuck to the inside of your trunk.”

Harry came back into the room and read the letter, “Oh! This is the letter from Dudley. I completely forgot he wrote me…”

“Well, you have been busy,” said Ron.

Harry nodded in agreement, letting out a sigh. The past week they got notified of not one, but two escaped Death Eaters, and he and Ben were tasked to go and capture them. It had been his first real assignment as well as his first real duel with another wizard since the War. He was glad he kept up with his training as he came back from the fight unscathed.

“I should write him back, so he knows I got the letter,” said Harry, sitting down at his desk and dipping his quill into the ink.

> _Dudley,_   
>  _Got your letter, though it came just a week ago. Sorry for not writing sooner - I was busy with work. How did you get an owl to deliver it? We can meet up and talk if you want. Write back with a day and time and I’ll try to be there._   
>  _-Harry_

Harry walked over to Lyra’s cage where the little owl was snoozing comfortable. “Lyra,” he said softly so as not to startle the owl, “Wake up. I have a letter for you. It’s for my cousin.” The sleepy owl blinked a few times in quick succession. She nipped playfully at Harry’s fingers as he scratched the top of her head, then stretched out her leg so he could attach the letter. Harry gave her a couple of treats then watched as she flew out the window to her destination.

* * *

Dudley was in his living room watching the telly when he thought he heard a tapping noise. He checked the door, but no one was there. Thinking maybe it was from the TV, he went back to his program. After hearing the tapping again, Dudley turned off the TV and looked around for the source; It was then that he noticed an owl at his front window.

“Oh! Harry must have gotten my letter.” He opened the window and let the bird fly in. He tentatively took the letter from the bird's leg and was happily surprised when she didn’t bite him. “Don’t go anywhere ok? Let me read this and see if I need to write him back.” He wasn’t sure if the bird understood, but since she just looked at him with her big, round eyes, instead of flying off, he took it as a good sign.

He read the note quickly, then found a piece of paper to write him back.

> _Long story. Want to meet Sunday (tomorrow) at the zoo? 2pm at the_

Dudley thought about a location before grinning to himself and adding

> _Reptile exhibit._   
>  _-Dudley_

* * *

“Dammit!” said Harry angrily as he picked himself back up from the ground for the third time. “I didn’t think flying this thing would be so bloody hard,” he grumbled, getting back onto the motorbike.

Harry and Ron had been out in a meadow for almost an hour. Harry had gotten the hang of getting the bike to fly without an issue, but his current problem was landing without throwing himself off. He sat on the motorbike, trying to think of what he’s doing wrong.

“Did you even _read_ the book Hermione gave you?” Ron asked from the sidecar, which was currently detached from the bike.

Harry shot Ron a look, “Of course. But that was for regular motorbikes, not enchanted flying ones.”

Ron shrugged, “Just a thought.” He got up and went over to the bike, looking it over. “Seems like it should be simple enough.”

Harry glared at him before taking off his helmet and shoving it, perhaps a bit too hard, into Ron’s chest for him to take. “If you think it’s so bloody easy, let’s see you try.”

“Really?” asked Ron, surprised.

Harry threw out his arms, as if to say “have at it,” before walking over to the sidecar and sitting down with a _humph_.

Grinning, Ron put on the helmet and straddled the motorbike before turning over the engine. He had watched Harry numerous times take off and fly around and he was able to mimic the actions flawlessly. He did a flew loop-de-loops for good measure before Harry called up to him, “Alright, Show-Off, try landing the thing!” Despite himself, he was grinning at his friend.

Ron concentrated and slowed the bike down as he neared the ground. Gritting his teeth and praying to Merlin, he touched ground. He bumped a few times but stayed seated as the bike came to a stop. He whooped as he got off the bike and took off the helmet, tossing it to Harry.

“How in Godric’s name did you do that?” asked Harry, putting the helmet back on.

Ron shrugged,”I made sure to land the back first then the front. You were trying to do both at the same time.”

Harry took off, circled the area a few times, and finally made a clean landing.

After successfully landing the motorbike a few more times, Harry reattached the side-car and flew the motorbike with Ron in it towards the city. Once they could see the buildings in the distance, he landed the bike perfectly and quickly got onto the road to head home.

“That was incredible!” said Ron as they walked through their front door. “We definitely need to use that thing more often.”

Harry grinned and nodded in agreement as he hung the key on the hook by the door “I’m thinking of taking it to Hogsmeade next weekend.”

“Oh that’s right!” said Ron excitedly, “It’ll be great to see Hermione--”

“And Ginny,” added Harry.

Ron rolled his eyes, “Yes, and Ginny. But this is the first time since we met that the three of us aren’t in school together. Wonder how she’s doing without us there?”

“Probably getting tons of work done now that she doesn’t have to do our homework for us as well,” said Harry, plopping himself onto the couch.

“True!” said Ron laughing and sitting next to him.

Harry conjured two butterbeers from the refrigerator and opened both, handing one to Ron. They talked about the motorbike until Lyra swooped in and landed on Harry’s knee.  

“Well, that was fast,” said Harry, opening the letter, “It’s from Dudley.”

Harry read the letter. He frowned at first, then chuckled to himself.

“What’d he say?” asked Ron.

“Want to go to the zoo tomorrow?” asked Harry.

Ron gave him a quizzical look, “Not really…. why?”

“That’s where Dudley wants to meet. At the zoo,” said Harry, handing Ron the letter to see for himself.

Ron read the letter and frowned like Harry did when he first read it, “That’s a strange place… Do you _want_ me to go with you? You don’t think he’ll want to cause any trouble do you?”

“Nah. I should be good.” said Harry, gulping the last of his butterbeer.

“Ok good. Mum wanted us to go to visit her tomorrow, so maybe you can stop by when you’re done?”

“Sounds good. I’m going to put Lyra back in her cage. Then I was thinking of ordering pizza.”

“Cool, I’m starving!” said Ron, rubbing his stomach.  

* * *

Dudley made his way into the reptile exhibit the next day. He hadn’t been back in this section of the zoo since his 11th birthday. He stopped in front of the boa constructor display, watching the same snake as last time sleep atop of a rock, soaking in the warmth of the heating lamp.

Harry walked in a few minutes later, waiting for his eyes to adjust from the bright sun outside to the dim lighting inside. He looked around and noted that the building was pretty busy. He walked around, looking for Dudley. He walked behind the man standing in front of the boa constructor, giving him a quick glance, and kept walking. Realization struck and he stopped, turned around, and looked at the man again. His face looked like Dudley but he was slimmer, more muscular, and more in shape than the last time he saw him.

Harry walked quietly up next to him at the same that time Dudley reach out and tentatively touched the glass that separated him from the boa.

“Careful now, it might disappear again,” said Harry in a serious voice.

Dudley jumped, pulling his hand back quickly. He made eye contact with Harry, who had finally broken out in a grin and, “Just giving you a hard time. Nice to see you Dudley.” Harry offered his hand for him to shake.

Dudley took his hand and shook, chuckling, “You startled me.” He went back to looking at the boa, which made Harry look at it as well.

They stood there for a moment before Harry said, “So why the reptile exhibit?”

Dudley shrugged, “Figured it would be a place that we could both laugh about since the last time we were here, you made the glass vanish.”

“You know that wasn’t on purpose right?” asked Harry, “I didn’t even know about, well, any of that, until I turned 11 a few weeks later.”

“I know that. Or at least I understand that now,” he looked to Harry, “To be honest, that was probably the first time I was scared of you, and I didn’t like that, which is why I was…. ” he faltered at what to say.

“Why you were such an arse?” suggested Harry, grinning again.

“Ya, that,” said Dudley, “Listen, I want to appolo--”

“You know what, it’s all right,” interrupted Harry, “You don’t need to apologize. It wasn’t all your fault. Your parents didn’t exactly treat me that great and you were just following that they did.”  
Dudley nodded not sure what to say.

Harry contemplated his cousin before asking, “So…. How’ve you been?”

“Alright,” he said shrugging, as he started to walk and Harry followed in step next to him, “I work for dad, but I hate it. Thinking of doing something else, but not sure what. You?”

“I’m good. Had a very, um, _eventful_ year. But things are better now. I work for the Ministry for our people now. Help track down and catch dark wiz--- I mean, bad guys.”

“Really?” asked Dudley, impressed, “That’s pretty wicked.”

They made their way outside and continued walking around until they found a bench to sit at. Harry looked around then whispered to Dudley, “Hey, just a heads up, I’m going to do a quick spell so that we can talk and not be overheard.”

Dudley had barely noticed when Harry took out his wand and quickly mumbled a spell. When Harry put the wand away, Dudley he realized that he wasn’t scared of magic anymore. Harry seemed to notice too.

“You used to flinch every time I brought that out before.”

“I guess I got used to it while we were in hiding,” said Dudley.

“How was that? Going in hiding I mean,” Harry asked, as he leaned against the bench seat, being comfortable around his cousin for the first time.

“It was… different to say the least. They placed us in a house in a wizard community but we weren’t allowed to leave.”

Harry nodded, “That sounds about right. The spells they used on the house only work if you stayed in them.”

“That’s what the… auror? I think that’s what he said he was. That’s what he said. And apparently electronics don’t work around tons of magic, so there was only one small telly and that’s it. No video games. No cell phones. No computers.”

“Sounds rough…” said Harry, not really sure what to say.

“It was. At first. But then that same bloke suggested I read. So, after one day of pure boredom, I finally did. And that changed my life.”

“How so?”

“Read up on health and exercise. Started applying it to my life.”

“So that’s why you look different!” said Harry, grinning.

Dudley chuckled, “I took up running, they got me one of those machines so I could jog inside the house. And I read more too. Some stories, some history, more health. There were even some book about wizards and stuff as well, but most of that went over my head,” he admitted.

Harry nodded, not saying anything and letting him continue to talk.

“When we got back from hiding, mum and dad didn’t want to stay in the house anymore. So they bought a smaller place over on Magnolia Crescent. They told me I could stay at the house on Privet Drive though, as long I paid rent, which could only happen if I had a job. And since I didn’t have any job experience, dad lined me up with a job at his company. And that’s about it.” He looked to Harry, “What about you? I’ve been curious about what happened between you and that Voldemort bloke. You.. you had to kill him, right?”

Harry was surprised that Dudley remembered his name. He nodded, took a deep breath and sighed it out, not sure where to begin, “It’s… well, it’s a really long and complicated story, Dudley.”

Dudley shrugged, “I have nothing better to do today.”

Harry smiled and shook his head, “Alright.”

Harry and Dudley talked for over an hour; Harry told him in simple terms what Voldemort did with his soul and how he had to find the pieces and destroy them. Dudley told him about overhearing the two wizards talking and that was how he was able to get an address for a wizard post office to finally mail him his letter.

It wasn’t until Harry left the zoo and made his way to the Burrow that he realized that he didn’t hear, or understand, any of the snakes talking at the reptile exhibit that day.

* * *

 

 ****So very sorry for such a long wait for this chapter! I was having major writers block! Hoping to get back into the groove now :)  
Thanks for reading! Please favorite/review!


	17. Chapter 17

Ginny fell into her four-poster bed exhausted. It was Wednesday and she had returned from a grueling practice with her team out in the rain. She mustered just enough energy to shower and change before exhaustion hit her full force. She still needed to do homework, but she needed to get in a few hours sleep before she could even think about lifting up a quill.

It had been almost 2 weeks since she started school and between classes, studying for N.E.W.T.S., homework, and getting her team ready for their first Quidditch game coming up, Ginny found herself exhausted most nights. The good thing about keeping so busy was that it made the time go faster. She glanced at the small calendar beside her bed and counted just three days until Hogsmeade, which means, just three short days until she can see Harry.

They’ve been writing to each other constantly, usually small, silly notes. But it wasn’t the same as seeing him every day. She worried if he remembered to take his Dreamless Sleep potion and wondered if he thought of her at odd, random times during the day like she did. Absently, she started to fiddle with the snitch locket around her neck. When she realized she was, she opened it, taking a glance at the small picture of the two of them. She smiled at the memory of them dancing and it wasn’t until a small hand tapped her shoulder that she realized that someone was talking to her. She glanced up and gave Hermione a smile, “Oh, hey there Hermione. What’s up?”

Hermione chuckled, well aware how lost in thought Ginny was. She sat down on her friend’s bed and said, “Nothing, I was just asking how Quidditch practice went today. Do you think you guys are ready for your first game next weekend?”

Ginny sat up, propping up a pillow and leaning against it, “Went well enough. I think we’re ready. It was our first practice in the rain so that was a plus.”

At Hermione’s questioning look she laughed and explained, “We can’t expect good weather during all quidditch matches. So it’s good to have some practices in other elements.”

“Oh, I see,” said Hermione, “I was wondering though, how are you doing with your studies? Do you need any help?”

Ginny shook her head, “So, I think I’m alright. I still have an essay to write for Professor Slughorn, but it’s not due until Friday. I’ve gotten everything done that is due tomorrow. I was going to get a few hours sleep and then wake up early to work on the rest of my homework for the week.”

“Oh… ok,” said Hermione, sounding disappointed.

Ginny frowned at her and then realized what was wrong, “You’re so used to the boys not doing their work on time and needing your help, aren’t you? You’re bored!”

Hermione grinned sheepishly, “Only a little. I’ve done all my work for the week and while I can always keep studying for N.E.W.T.S., almost everything is just review at this point. I’ve even gone around the common room, looking to see if anyone needs help tonight and no one does.”

“Well, if it’ll help, I’ll let you read over my essay before turning it, ok?” offered Ginny.

Hermione beamed at her, “Sounds great!” She crossed her legs, getting comfortable on the bed. “So, are you looking forward to Hogsmeade this weekend?”

The girls talked until Ginny could barely keep her eyes open anymore. As Hermione was heading to her own bed next to Ginny’s, she noticed that her friend had fallen asleep holding onto her locket.

Hermione and Ginny were thankful that the rest of the week by fast as usual. They, along with Luna, made their way to the gates of Hogwarts so they could get to Hogsmeade in time to meet Harry and Ron.

“I wonder if they’re there yet?” Ginny asked excitedly.

Hermione was about to say something when Luna interjected, “No, they’re not.”

“How do you know?” asked Ginny.

Luna pointed ahead of them, “Because they’re right there. Neville seems to be with them too.”

Ginny saw who she was pointing at and broke into a grin. “Harry!” she called, waving at him. She was close enough to see him smiling at her, which made her start to run over to him. Harry caught her in a hug and they held on to each other for a moment before breaking contact to give each other a light kiss. Harry leaned his forehead against hers and closed his eyes, breathing in her scent, “I missed you. I missed this,” he said softly to her.

She cupped her hands softly on his face and kissed him again, “I missed you too.”

At the sound of someone clearing their throat, and remembering there were others around, they grinned at each other and faced their friends. Harry noticed that Ron and Hermione were also coming apart from an embrace as well. Then he saw that Neville was standing off to the side, looking a little uncomfortable, while Luna stood next to him, not seeming to care in the slightest.  

“Sorry Neville,” Harry said, then he looked to Luna and gave her a hug, “Luna! Great to see you.”

Luna hugged him back, “You too, Harry.”

After saying their hello’s, the group made their way to Hogsmeade. They passed other students, most of who would point and whisper as they went by, some even waving and saying hi.

“I knew I should have worn the cloak,” said Harry, under his breath after the third person waved at him.

Ginny smiled at him and squeezed his hand, “They’re just excited to see the famous Harry Potter.”

Harry tried holding back a groan, “I know. But days like today, I just want to focus on you and my friends. Not having people stare and point.”

“I have a feeling that that’s going to happen all your life. You might as well get used to it, love.” She leaned over and kissed his cheek, which temporarily soothed out his frustration.

When they got the The Three Broomsticks, they chose the only table that was available which was in the middle of the room. As they settled in, a familiar voice said, “Hey guys! I thought saw you walking over here.”

Neville turned to the familiar voice and gave her a smile, “Hi Hannah. How are you? I see your arm is healing well?”

“Hi Neville,” she said, her cheeks turning a slight pink color, “I’m good. I’m back at Hogwarts to finish up my last year. And yes, my arm is fine, thank you.”

“Would you like to join us?” offered Hermione.  
“Oh I don’t want to intrude on your get-together. I just wanted to come over and say hello,” she said.

“Don’t be silly,” said Ginny who had gotten up to pull up another chair. She placed it between Neville and Ron.

“Oh, well, thank you,” she said, smiling at everyone. She nervously tucked her blonde hair behind her ear and held her hands together at the table. Madam Rosmerta came by to take their order, which consisted of Butterbeer for everyone as well as a basket of crisps to share. When she left to get the drinks and food, the group continued to talk and catch up.

“I was surprised to hear that you didn’t come back to Hogwarts,” Hannah said to Neville, as Hermione was talking about her classes to Ron, who was trying his best to look interested. Harry and Ginny were holding hands and whispering to each other and Luna and taken out the latest issue of the Quibbler and started to read it upside down.

“I was going to, but then Kingsley asked if I wanted to work at the Ministry and become an Auror. So I’m doing that for now,” he said. Madam Rosmerta returned with the drinks and placed a steaming basket of crisps in the middle of the table.

“‘For now’? You don’t think you’ll stay an auror?” she asked, reaching for a crisp.

“I like it enough, but I’m not sure it’s what I want to do for forever, you know?”

She nodded while he took a sip of his butterbeer, “So what would you like to do instead?” she asked.

“Well, I’m studying to take the N.E.W.T.S. along with you guys and if I get good marks, I might intern at Hogwarts in Herbology. I wouldn’t mind becoming a teacher someday.”

“That’ll be cool, Neville!” Hannah said, “You were always at your best in that class.”

He smiled at her before asking, “What about you? What do you think you’ll want to do after Hogwarts?”

Hannah shrugged her shoulders, “I’m not entirely sure. I’ve been leaning towards getting a Healer’s license though.”

As Hannah and Neville continued their conversation, Ron and Hermione were having their own when a boy walked up to Hermione and tapped her on the shoulder, “Er, sorry to interrupt..”

“Oh, Hi Dylan. It’s alright. Do you need something?” asked Hermione, while Ron give the boy a curious glance.

“I was just wondering if we were still on for meeting up later?” he asked nervously, glancing at Ron then back to Hermione.

Hermione gave him a smile, “Yes. 6 o’clock, right?”

Dylan nodded and mumbled goodbye as he left the group.

“Who was that?” asked Ron.

“That’s Dylan, a 6th year Hufflepuff,” she replied, reaching for a crisp.

“What are you guys doing at 6 tonight?” Ron asked.

Before Hermione could tell him, a group of boys walked by and one waved at Hermione, “Hey Hermione! See you tomorrow at 7, ok?”

“Sounds good Christopher,” she said, as he continued on with his friends.

Ron frowned at Hermione, “Are you setting up dates with these blokes?”

Hermione laughed, which seemed to upset Ron even more.

“Ron, don’t be silly,” Hermione said dismissively, “It’s nothing like that.”

“Then what is it?” he demanded.

Hermione frowned at him, “Ron you need to calm down, it’s nothing---”

“I’ll calm down when you tell me what the bloody hell is going on! Why are you meeting all these guys for?” he asked, his voice rising as he talked.

“Ron, you’re making a scene,” she said in a lower tone, “And it’s really none of your business, but if you must--”

“None of my business? You’re my girlfriend! I should be able to know what’s going on with you, especially if it involves other boys,” said Ron, heatedly.

By this time everyone at the table had stopped what they were doing and were watching the two.

Hermione glared at Ron, “You’re being a jealous git Ronald Weasley. If you’ll only let me finish--”

“You know what,” he said, getting up from his seat, “I need some fresh air.”

Before Hermione could say another word, Ron walked out of the pub and down the street.

Hermione looked around the table, trying to hold back tears, “I… I don’t understand what just happened.”

“I think I’m going to head over to Honeydukes and get some sweets,” said Neville, rising from his chair.

“I’ll go with you,” said Hannah.

Luna got up as well, “Oh? Are we leaving now so that Ron and Hermione fight alone?”

Hermione sighed, resting her chin in her hands, “He’s not even here anymore, Luna.”

“Maybe not now, but he’ll be back.” And with that, she got up and walked out the door, Neville and Hannah shortly behind her.

Hermione looked to Harry, “Is Ron ok? Has he mentioned anything before coming here today?”

Harry shook his head, clearly confused by his friends actions as well.

“It’s like you said, he’s being a jealous git,” said Ginny, shrugging, “Speaking of jealous gits, look who’s back.”

Hermione looked up to see Ron walking back over the table. His face still looked angry and he wouldn’t look her in the eye as he sat down in the chair next to her.

The atmosphere around the table became uncomfortable, so Harry looked to Ginny, “Want to get out of here? I have something to show you anyways.”

“Though you’d never ask,” she said, reaching for his hand as they left.

After a few moments alone, Ron took a chance to glance at Hermione, who was staring at him, waiting for an explanation.

“Sorry,” he mumbled.

“What?” she asked, surprised. She was expecting him to argue some more, not an apology.

“I said I was sorry,” he said a little louder.

“I don’t even know why you were mad in the first place,” she said frowning, “Do you not trust me?”

He looked up her, “I do trust you.”

“Then what in Merlin’s name was all that about?” she asked, sounding exasperated.

“I… I don’t really know. I guess I got jealous that you were meeting other guys alone...”

“Who said anything about being alone with them?” At Ron’s curious glance, she gave him a smile, “Ron, I told you it’s nothing like that. And if you would have let me finish before, I was trying to explain that I’m tutoring them and helping them with homework.”

“Oh,” he said sheepishly, “Sorry… and sorry also about storming off like that.”

Hermione nodded, placing a hand on top of his, “I understand that sometimes you need to cool down when you’re angry. That’s just how you work. I get it. As long as you come back to me, and we talk things through, we’ll be fine.”

He smiled at her, turning his hand so that their fingers were interlocked.

Hermione scooted her chair over so that it was closer to his and she laid her head on his shoulder.

“Did you really think I’d see other guys when I’m clearly madly in love with you?”

He turned his head to look at her, “You are?” he said surprised.

She lifted her head and smiled at him, “Of course, Ron. Did you think I didn’t?”

“Well… you’ve never said that before….”

“Well, to be fair, neither have you. I just thought it was something that was implied.”

Ron gave her a grin, then lifted her chin with his hand to give her a soft kiss, “I love you too, Hermione.”

Meanwhile, Harry let Ginny to entrance to Hogsmeade.

“Where are we going?” she asked curiously.

“You’ll see,” he said mysteriously which made her laugh.

He rounded a corner and went behind a building where his motorbike was located.

“Oh! You rode the bike here?” she asked.

“Yup. Been practicing flying it as well,” he glanced at her and gave her a sly grin, “Would you like to take a ride with me?”

“Really?” she asked excitedly.

Harry walked over and reached into the sidecar, pulling out a helmet and handing it to her.   
“Am I riding in that?” she asked, indicating to the sidecar.

“No, you’ll sit with me on the bike. I just have that attached because Ron rode here with me in it.”

Ginny laughed, “I need to see that!”   
Harry chuckled and he took out his wand to detach the side car. He charmed it so that it would blend in with the surroundings so no one would stumble upon it and take it.

He put on his helmet then straddled his bike. He patted the seat behind him, indicating to Ginny to hop on.

Gleefully, she put on the helmet and sat behind Harry.

“Hold on to me,” he said as he started the engine.

She wrapped her arms around him and her stomach jolted when the bike moved forward. He drove on the ground for a minute before gaining speed and lifting it up in the air.

“This is amazing!” she said, as they climbed higher into the air.

Harry pushed a button on the front panel, which Ginny assumed was a cloaking spell of some sort.  

They circled above Hogsmeade and Ginny had a fun time pointing out people she knew on the ground, oblivious to who was above them.

When she was done, Ginny placed her chin on Harry’s shoulder and moved one of her hands to his chest while keeping the other securely around his waist. Harry smiled, placing his hand on hers. They rode around in the air for a while until they came to a small clearing just outside of Hogsmeade. Harry made a soft landing and slowed the motorbike to stop.

Ginny hopped off, taking the helmet and placing it on the seat, “That was amazing!” she said as Harry took off his own helmet.

“I knew you’d like it,” he said, taking her hand and pulling her close to him.

“Do you think I can fly it next time?” she asked, batting her eyes at him playfully.

“Hm… We’ll see, I need some convincing first,” he said.

Ginny ran her hands along the length of his arms until they connected behind his neck. She pulled herself up and kissed him, softly at first then added a little heat.

They stayed that way for a while, snogging in an empty field, nothing but them, a motorbike, and soft breeze. When they finally broke apart for a breath of air, Harry leaned down to nuzzle and kiss the curve of her neck.

“Ok, fine. You convinced me,” he said against her skin, which immediately gave her goosebumps.

She smiled and kissed his cheek and when he looked at her, he was grinning.

“You had already decided that I could drive it before I even asked, hadn’t you?” she said, playing hitting his chest.

He grabbed her hand and kissed it, “Perhaps.”

He went over to the side of the motorbike where there was a saddlebag hanging. He pulled out a blanket and placed it on the ground, then he and Ginny sat together. They talked about her upcoming quidditch match in more detail and he told her about work at the ministry. When the sun started to touch the tops of the surrounding mountains, they decided it was time to head back.

As promised, Harry let Ginny drive the motorbike back. She sat in front with Harry behind her, his hands on hers as he showed her what to do.

They said their goodbye’s at the gate of Hogwarts. Neville had already apparated back to his place, and Ron was giving Hermione a long hug.

“So I’ll see you next weekend?” Ginny asked hopefully.

Harry kissed her and said “Wouldn’t miss it.”

He rested his forehead against hers and closed his eyes while she did the same. He whispered, “I love you,” then kissed her forehead. Reluctantly, he let her go and headed back towards the motorbike, Ron following behind him.

 


End file.
